“Rosso di Montalcino - Spicy red berry, black plum, toasty oak aromas on the very ripe nose, nicely lifted by a floral element. Suave, pliant and sweet, with slightly high-toned red cherry and oak flavour and an immensely appealing creamy texture. Finishes with fine tannins and lingering sweetness of spicy red cherries.” Stephen Tanzer
“Rosso di Montalcino - This one’s a slow burner that only began to justify its higher price after repeated swirling, sniffing and slurping. Then it yielded gorgeous fruit flavours supported by a firm rasp of tannin. Good length. Lovely stuff.” Raymond Blake, BLAKE ON WINE
AA PIAN DELL’ORINO, , MONTALCINO Biodynamic
CAROLINE POBITZER & J. H. ERBACH
One of the very best estates in Montalcino, situated right beside legendary Biondi Santi. Caroline, born in the Sud Tirol and Jan Hendrick, a German native, adopt a biodynamic approach in their 6-ha vineyard which is carried through into the winery which is a round, womb-like construction built into the hillside using solely natural, breathable materials.
You get a sense from a myriad of details that this undertaking was painstakingly thought out and then implemented with an over-arching philosophy of complete integrity with the surrounding ecosystem.
The grapes for the Rosso are selected in the same way as for the Brunello di Montalcino. The difference is found in the wine-making. Spontaneous fermentation starts after one or two days of maceration. The temperature is automatically controlled so that it does not exceed 30°C. The must macerated a bit more than 2 weeks before 25 hl of it was transferred into a Slavonian oak cask and 30 hl in barrels of 500 l where the Rosso matured for 17 months. Neither artificial yeasts nor any other enzymatic or technological additives have been used during the whole period of transformation of the wine. The resulting wine is powerful, yet perfumed and carries its power with an almost etheral lightness, and on the finish, you are left with a persistent impression of the wine’s purity and aliveness.