2009 Brunello di Montalcino, Sesti, Tuscany, Italy

A black grape widely grown in Central Italy and the main component of Chianti and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano as well as being the sole permitted grape for the famed Brunello di Montalcino.

Along with Chianti, Brunello di Montalcino is Tuscany's most famous DOCG and its boldest expression of the Sangiovese grape. Located 30 miles south of Siena, its 2,000 hectares of vines are hemmed in by the Orcia, Asso and Ombrone valleys. Brunello is the local name for the Sangiovese Grosso clone from which Brunello di Montalcino should be made in its entirety. The wine cannot be released for sale until five years after the harvest.

What started as neighbourly help assisting in the nearby vineyards and wineries soon led Giuseppe Sesti to discovering his own passion and talent for winemaking, planting his own vines at Castello di Argiano in 1991, a 13th century property with Etruscan origins.   The progress Giuseppe has made in such a short time is staggering, and the Sesti wines are now widely acknowledged to be quite simply some of the finest that Montalcino has to offer. Having studied astronomy, it is not surprising that many of his winemaking processes follow the lunar cycle. Expertly assisted by his daughter Elisa who gave up a career as a theatre director, Giuseppe has succeeded in establishing an extremely impressive international reputation in the world of wine.   The Sesti estate consists of 102 hectares (254 acres) of land, of which nine hectares are planted to vineyards. The rest is given to olive groves grazing or woodland.