Pietroso Brunello di Montalcino 2013

Why is this Wine so Yummy?

“I can’t think of a single Montalcino estate that has improved more over the last 15 years than Pietroso”
Ian D’Agata.

The estate was bought by Domenico Berni, nicknamed Belfo, in the 1970s (he was the fattore or main farmhand of Villa a Tolli, Poggio Salvi and others) with the objective to make wine for home use. He started out with 0.5 hectares but as everyone told him his wine was too good to be limited to family consumption, he began selling some of it with the 1978 vintage. Today the estate owns five hectares (3.5 hectares are of Sangiovese that can be used to make Brunello di Montalcino) and have another 1.5 hectares of IGT Sangiovese to plant. Depending on the vintage the estate produces 15,000 bottles a year of Brunello di Montalcino and 20,000 of Rosso di Montalcino. Since 2010 they have been farming a small plot of vines at the top of the Montosoli hill that has been replanted to Sangiovese. The estate’s goal is to make a single vineyard or a Brunello selection from this very prestigious site, apparently blessed with a slightly warmer microclimate than the estate’s other sites (Montosoli is in the northern side of Montalcino but this vineyard has south and southeast exposure, that’s why it’s a relatively warm site). The consultant winemaker at Pietroso is Alessandro Dondi, the viticulturalist is Federico Becarelli. Pietroso’s wines have improved immeasurably over the last decade.

Where in the world are they?

You can see where Montalcino rest in Tuscany south of Chianti in the map below.