Four Bottles from the Heart of Tuscany

Brunello di Montalcino captures Sangiovese at its most profound: aromatic, savory, structured, and built to evolve. This collection follows that spectrum through four distinctive estates, from a quietly personal family bottling to a historic benchmark house, a small organic farm on Montalcino’s western flank, and a polished organic estate from the southwest. Tasted in this order, the wines build from lifted red fruit and supple tannin toward greater polish, depth, and a long, savory finish.

Bramante Cosimi, Brunello di Montalcino

"The Family Legacy"

Rudy Cosimi’s roots in Montalcino run deep. This cuvée honors his grandfather, a local tractor repairman, while the Sangiovese vines were planted by his father decades ago. From sandy, fossil-rich soils and mature vines, it opens with ripe cherry, blood orange, crushed violet, and dried Tuscan herbs, all grounded by a hint of sweet leather. The palate finds a graceful middle ground: medium-to-full-bodied, bright with acidity, and carried by fine, velvety tannins into a long, dusty-mineral finish. An elegant introduction to the pack.

Pair with: Roasted pork loin, tagliatelle with mushroom ragù, or aged Pecorino Toscano.

Caparzo, Brunello di Montalcino

"The Benchmark House"

Caparzo was founded at the end of the 1960s by a group of Tuscan friends, when only about ten other wineries worked the region, and the estate helped establish the Brunello DOCG. The 2021 blends four sites across the appellation, all above 200 meters on sand, clay, and sedimentary soils, and it balances polished fruit with the dusty, savory tones Montalcino is known for. Dried red cherry, crushed raspberry, dried rose petal, tobacco, cedar, and sage lead to a rich, full palate with scintillating acidity and tannins that provide tension, not a barrier.

Pair with: Tuscan peposo, beef braised in red wine with plenty of black pepper. Serve just above cellar temperature in Bordeaux stems.

Bolsignano, Brunello di Montalcino

"The Organic Traditionalist"

On Montalcino’s western flank, Roberto Rubegni farms a small Tavernelle estate with a deliberately hands-on approach, including draft horses in the vineyard rows. Certified-organic Sangiovese from marl, limestone, and clay is fermented with indigenous yeast and raised in neutral oak, resulting in a Brunello of real clarity and structure. Ripe black cherry and wild blackberry meet gingerbread, dried orange peel, cedar, tobacco, and crushed limestone, while integrated, grippy tannins lengthen the savory finish. This is the point in the tasting where the frame of the wines begins to broaden.

Pair with: Wild boar ragù over hand-cut pappardelle, or grilled bistecca alla Fiorentina with rosemary and cracked black pepper.

Podere Brizio, Brunello di Montalcino

"The Polished Modernist"

In Montalcino’s southwestern corner, Podere Brizio sits next to Gaja’s Pieve Santa Restituta and is farmed organically under consulting oenologist Alberto Antonini and terroir scientist Dr. Pedro Parra. The Sangiovese ferments with native yeast and ages in large neutral Slavonian oak, and the 2019 is one of Montalcino’s benchmark vintages. Black raspberry, redcurrant, blue flowers, crushed stone, and cedar lead to a full, linear palate with mouthwatering acidity and refined, chalky tannins.

Pair with: Roasted lamb with rosemary and garlic, or braised lamb shank. Serve at 60-64°F in Burgundy stems, after a decant of an hour or more.