Brunello di Montalcino
Brunello di Montalcino is made from 100% Sangiovese, grown, harvested, and processed in the rolling hills that characterize this lovely South Tuscan wine region. The Brunello versus Barolo dispute engages hearts and palates as to which is the best Italian red and we help you weigh the evidence, visiting the region from our base in Florence to enjoy a Brunello di Montalcino wine tour and tasting.
Brunello Wine Tour Highlights:
- Compare Brunello di Montalcino and Rosso di Montalcino
- Private tours of two or three Brunello di Montalcino wineries
- Wander the streets of Montalcino or Pienza ancient towns
- We can also extend to experience the Montepulciano wine region
- Learn even more about and taste classic Chianti
- We can add the “big daddy” of Biondi Santi if you fancy that?
- Add a day for the cultural and historical treasures that Florence offers
While we may vary the wineries or order of our visits below we give you an idea of where we would normally go. Remember everything is tailor-made and that this tour can also be run from Siena.
Brunello is one of the great wines of the world and this Wine Folly graphic shows color & aromas
After picking you up from your hotel we drive towards Siena on the highway and then out onto narrow country roads surrounded by vines. The Brunello countryside is a historic and beautiful place with its endless rolling hills, majestic castles, luxurious villas, and quaint hill-top towns.
Castiglion del Bosco is a very nice winery to kick off your day. This prestigious wine estate is now in the possession of the Ferragamo fashion magnates, and a beautiful job they have made of it. We will learn about what makes this wine special and see how it is done. The cellar is impressive and you will see many of the glass one-way valves (said to have been invented by Leonardo da Vinci) that abound in Tuscany.
Castiglion del Bosco is indeed blessed with its location in Tuscany
You will be shown the private members’ wine and cigar locker area which looks more like an Oxford University library. For a “mere” 10,000 Euros you can have your own locker to store your prized bottles and have the room to yourself for a function when you want to. People host special wine tasting sessions here and sometimes get married in this rather exclusive space!
Then it is back up into the sunlight for a tasting of three of the Brunellos that Castiglion del Bosco proudly produce. Brunello has a distinctive hue, aroma, and flavor profile that many of us may not very familiar with, the fine details of the profiles and tight controls, regulations, and terroir that create them are explained to us as we taste.
Then we head off to the Podere Le Ripi winery for a look at how a coffee company now runs an old winery they bought and renovated. The owners of Le Ripi are the Illy Coffee family and the owner Francesco Illy is as concerned with the quality of their wine as he is with his coffee. As you can see in the photo below he spent some time with us at lunch and was very charming.
As well as lunch here we will enjoy several Brunellos from Le Ripi, we will hear more about the wine in general and tour the spiral-shaped winery. We will see a very unusual method of vine planting at Le Ripi; the “Bonsai” method. This involves planting short vines very close together (trained to bamboo stakes) in order to create extra density stress. Instead of an average density of a few thousand plants per hectare, they have planted 62,500 on an experimental plot to see what the results are, and they are quite pleased!
Forgetting the technical details for a while we can just soak up the views of the countryside, spending a day in this place is very refreshing indeed. Continuing on, and depending on the schedule we have arranged with you we will either continue this Brunello wine tour at one more winery or enjoy walking in either Montalcino or Pienza towns. These hill-top ancient towns are simply lovely and a stroll around will cap off a perfect day in Tuscany.
Super Tuscan Options
You will learn a lot about this wine style on our Super Tuscan wine tour and we will also taste some Chianti Classico for comparison. This relatively new IGT wine operates outside the constraints of the Tuscan DOCG regulations and in many cases Super Tuscans are a “Bordeaux-blend” style wine.
We arrange for a wine specialist guide to be with you today, hence this tour can be more technical if you wish (or not!), you decide how much detail you would like. For sure you will learn the differences between Chianti Classico and Super Tuscans, technically and on the palate.
Super Tuscan Wine Tour Highlights:
- Tour led by a Tuscan wine specialist
- Private or small group tours, max 8 people in the group
- Visit three wineries specializing in Super Tuscans
- Lunch at one of the wineries
- Tasting of Classic Chianti for comparison
- Heavy hitters such as Antinori can be visited if you wish
As we mentioned above we can arrange visits to high-profile places such as Antinori and Sassicaia if they are on your list. We also offer visits to places that are a little more off-the-radar so to speak or wineries that are especially beautiful or historic.
Castello di Gabbiano winery is such a place. The original 12th-century castle, which now houses a boutique hotel and the winery, has been restored to more than its former glory, the place is beautiful. Spending time wandering the castle grounds and admiring the views is good enough but add the wine tour and tasting and it is a truly lovely visit.
Castello di Gabbiano; a luxury hotel and a winery in a castle, what more could you need?
We visit the cellar, once a dungeon, and see how the wine here is aged in large Botti and also in the more modern, smaller barrels, blending the use of French and Slavonian (Croatian) oak. Our guide will explain the processes in detail and then we get a chance to taste some of the wines produced here, plus some instruction on olive oil tasting. Here we will taste Chianti and Super Tuscan side-by-side so you can really smell and taste the differences.
The next move on our super Tuscan wine tour is a short hop to the Folonari winery for some samples of their delicious offerings. The very nicely appointed tasting room at the Tenuta di Nozzole location is perfect for our guests to enjoy some examples from the extensive range of Folonari wines. Your guide will lead you through the tasting to identify the processes, colors, aromas, and tastes of the different wines produced on this estate, you will start to reinforce the differences between Chianti and Super Tuscan as the day progresses.
After this tasting, we head off to the last stop of the day, the ultra-stylish Diadema Wines project. We will eat here and enjoy a tasting of great Super Tuscan wine from some of the most stylish bottles you are likely to see. Our lunch will be made from traditional Tuscan ingredients and the wine pairings will set the flavors off perfectly.
The eye-catching designs of Diadema winery are enhanced with Swarovski crystals
The design of the Diadema bottles is certainly eye-catching with the premium wines carrying sparkling crystals designed by Swarovski jewelers. They have a large range of wine to show you including a sparkling which again looks fantastic in its lovely bottle. As well as using a fair amount of the most traditional grape of Tuscany, Sangiovese, the winemakers here extend their blending using French grapes such as Merlot, Syrah, and Petit Verdot to produce several lovely incarnations of Super Tuscans.
If you have specific places you want to visit and certain wines you want to try just let us know. Our tours are custom designed to your wishes – we can arrange (or certainly nearly die trying) anything you want, and in the timescales, you have open to you.
