2017 Brunello di Montalcino, Ugolaia, Lisini, 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.

The history of Lisini dates to the time of the Medicis. This is one of Montalcino’s oldest estates, and a founding member of the Corsorzio del Vino Brunello di Montalcino. Lisini is one of the few producers in Sant’Angelo in Colle, in the south-west of Montalcino. The proximity here to Maremma gives maritime breezes warding against summer heat, which is especially important in as hot and dry a year as 2017. Thick woodland, olive groves and wild scrubs surround the 25 hectares under vine – a rural haven of the region’s finest terroir. An ancient river system sculpted the area, and with it the complex soils in Lisini’s vineyards. Fossil laced sand, clay and iron-rich soils, paired with altitudes of 300-400 metres, all play a leading role in the unique personality of Lisini’s wines.