Roberto Rubegni doesn’t play the Brunello game like everyone else. While other producers chase consorzio politics and international scores, this trained enologist farms his 3.5 hectares with two horses and makes exactly 5,000 bottles a year. That's it: No expansion plans, no compromise on quality, just traditional, organic Brunello.

The Bolsignano estate sits at 300 meters elevation in Tavernelle, on Montalcino's western flank facing the Ombrone River. The location is ideal: high enough to catch cool breezes, low enough to ripen fully, with tufaceous marl soils that give the wine its distinctive mineral backbone. When the family split the estate in 2012, Roberto kept the best parcels and went all-in on quality over quantity.

The farming has been certified organic since 2014, but Roberto's approach goes deeper than certification. Those two horses aren't for show—they work the vineyards, keeping the soil alive and uncompacted. Hand-harvesting, indigenous yeasts, 20-day fermentation in steel, then 36 months in oak barrels of various sizes to preserve the fruit while adding complexity. 

The 2019 vintage was perfection: moderate temperatures, huge day-night temperature swings, zero heat spikes. It gave grapes with incredible color, perfect phenolic ripeness, and acid structure built for the ages. In our view it’s clearly the best vintage since 2010 and 2016, with some whispering it might even rival the legendary 1990.

WHY YOU'LL LOVE IT

• A Restaurant Cult: When Flour + Water—one of America's most celebrated Italian restaurants—makes this their most beloved, bestselling Brunello, you know something special is happening. Sommeliers usually have first dibs on wines like this. Now it's your turn.
  

• The 2019 Factor: In a vintage this legendary, nearly everyone made incredible wine. Great enologists like Rubegni make time capsules. Dark plums, raspberries, incense, cedar, dried rosemary—this has everything you want in Brunello, balanced for decades of evolution.
  

• The Enologist Advantage: Roberto isn't just a farmer who learned to make wine. He's a trained enologist who chose to farm. The technical precision shows the instant you put your nose in the glass.

HOW TO SERVE IT

Decant for an hour minimum—2019s are structured for the long haul and need air to show their best. Serve at 62-65°F in large Bordeaux or Sangiovese stems.

Drink now through 2040. It's approachable today with decanting, but the real show starts in 5-7 years. If you can hold some until 2030, you'll be rewarded with a symphonic Brunello in the glass.

Perfect with wild boar ragù, or bistecca alla fiorentina with fresh truffles.