2011 La Gerla Brunello di Montalcino

La Gerla was established in 1976 by Sergio Rossi, an advertising executive who had been a director of top European agencies. Rossi bought the historic 30-acre estate from the Biondi Santi family, long-time makers of Brunello. Rossi re-named the estate La Gerla and started offering La Gerla Brunellos in 1978. Rossi died in 2011, but his wife Donatella Monforte continues to run the estate. Winemaker is Vittorio Fiore. About 75,000 bottles are produced annually. All the wines are made with estate Sangiovese grapes. The wines earn praise from reviewers and ratings in the mid-90s.

Brunello di Montalcino is regarded as one of Italy’s best appellations. Located in south central Tuscany below Chianti, the wines of Brunello di Montalcino DOCG are made of a Sangiovese clone called “brunello,” which means “little dark one,” a reference to the brown tones in the skin of the grape. Unlike some Tuscan appellations that allow other grapes to be blended with Sangiovese, Brunello di Montalcino is entirely Sangiovese. Montalcino itself is a picturesque, hill-top town not especially well known for wine production until the mid-19th century, when a local vineyard owner isolated the brunello clone and planted it. Other growers followed suit. Nevertheless it wasn’t until 1970s that wine enthusiasts started paying attention to Brunello di Montalcino, which by then was becoming an outstanding wine. Today there are 120 estates in the DOCG, up from about 25 estates in 1975. Brunellos in general are bigger, darker, more tannic and more powerful wines than Chiantis or most other Sangioveses. By law they must be aged for four years, and two of those years must be in wooden barrels.