Casisano farms a handful of hectares on the southern side of Montalcino, where the hills rise toward Monte Amiata and the vineyards sit higher and cooler than most of the zone. The Colombaiolo is their Riserva, and 2012 gave it a long, slow season to work with.
- Sangiovese, called Brunello here and nothing else.
- Brunello di Montalcino DOCG, Tuscany.
- 2012, a vintage of warm days and cool nights.
- Riserva, released later than the annata.
- 14.5% abv, dry, full bodied.
How it is made
Brunello di Montalcino is Sangiovese and only Sangiovese, grown in a zone drawn around the hill town of Montalcino south of Siena. The DOCG sets the minimum ageing before release, and a Riserva carries a longer one than the standard wine. That time in wood and bottle is what turns Sangiovese's sharp red fruit into something darker and slower.
How it tastes
Sour cherry first, then leather and tobacco, with dried herbs underneath. The tannins are firm and the acidity is high, which is the Sangiovese signature: a wine that feels taut rather than soft, and holds its shape for a long time in the glass. The nose is fine and complex, the fruit folded into a sweet spice that comes from age rather than oak. Austere on the palate, in the way Montalcino usually is.
Where it comes from
Montalcino sits in the south of Tuscany, drier and warmer than Chianti to the north, with hills that climb to about 500 metres. The best sites face south and south-west toward the sea, catching light all afternoon. Casisano works a small estate there, and the Colombaiolo is one of its named bottlings.
Good to know
Brunello was the first Italian wine to receive DOCG status, in 1980. The zone is small, roughly 2,000 hectares under vine, and by law every bottle is 100% Sangiovese, which makes Montalcino unusual in a country that blends almost everywhere else.
