Pian dell'Orino, Brunello di Montalcino 'Vigneti del Versante' 2017

Variety: Sangiovese

While the winemakers of Pian dell’Orino are not Tuscany natives, owners Caroline Pobitzer and Jan Hendrik Erbach are producing some of the very best Montalcino available on the market right now. Caroline, who was born in Sudtirol, managed a renaissance castle near to where she was the primary caretaker of an enormous, six hundred year-old grapevine (the oldest and largest existing vine in all of Europe,) before pivoting into winemaking. Caroline’s partner, Jan, hailing from Karlsruhe, Germany, not far from the Pfalz region, studied both viticulture and oenology before working as an oenologist in France. The two met and realized their passions and dreams aligned well. Buying an estate in Montalcino, together they grow purely Sangiovese. With vineyard sites falling within some of the most prized parcels in the appellation, the duo produces wine that shines not only because of its exceptional terroir but because of the meticulous attention to detail payed both in the vineyards and cellar. Pian dell'Orino refuses to cut corners and farms sustainability in order to ensure not only best practice in winemaking but also in how they effect the world around them.

A wine sourced entirely from the Scopeta vineyard. This wine macerated for four weeks before being drawn off, twice as long as the Rosso. It then ages for 42 months in large barrels.