1999 Cerbaiona Brunello di Montalcino

Cerbaiona is just east of Montalcino. It was founded in the late 1970s when Diego Molinari retired from his career as an airline pilot and with his wife Nora bought the 8-acre estate, which was in disrepair. The Molinaris built the estate into a highly esteemed producer known for its Brunello di Montalcino, though it also makes a Rosso di Montalcino. The wines win high praise from reviewers, including Gambero Rosso, Italy’s leading wine journal, which frequently awards Cerbaiona wines with 3 glasses, the highest rating. In 2015 Oregon-based venture capitalist Gary Rieschel led an investment group who purchased the winery from the Molinaris. Rieschel and the Molinaris are long-time friends. Robert M. Parker Jr. has written that “Diego Molinari regularly turns out some of the most inspiring wines in the region. His Brunello is a classically built, structured wine that expresses the very essence of Sangiovese from Montalcino.”

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.