2004 Siro Pacenti Brunello di Montalcino

Siro Pacenti is an estate just below the town of Montalcino, in Tuscany. The 50 acres of Sangiovese vineyards produce about 80,000 bottles a year. The family estate is now run by Giancarlo Pacenti, who took over from his father Siro, who founded the estate in 1970. The estate’s signature wine is Brunello di Montalcino though there is also a Rosso di Montalcino which is also Sangiovese. Gambero Rosso, Italy’s leading wine journal, notes that Pacenti in the 1990s “became emblematic of the trend towards a less austere Brunello…Their grapes are blended to create highly concentrated, fruit-forward wines.”

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.