The Cerbaiona Brunello di Montalcino comes highly recommended. In one of the most visible quotes on the internet as regards this estate, Antonio Galloni (Vinous) states thusly: "If I am forced to drink just one wine from Montalcino, I would almost certainly choose the sumptuous Brunello from Cerbaiona." That is a mouthfull; especially when Montalcino is also home to standouts such as Soldera, Poggio do Sotto, et al. I explore Cerbaiona in this post.
The estate now known as Cerbaiona began as a gleam in the eye of retired Alitalia pilot Diego Molinari, a Burgundy lover who wanted to produce reminiscent wines in Montalcino territory. Diego, accompanied by his wife Nora, began his search for a suitable site and, as a part of that process, spoke extensively with individuals at all production levels/aspects in the region.
The culmination of his efforts was the 1977 selection of a small estate (location shown in the chart below) with a villa and Renaissance garden -- dating to the 1600s -- on the property. The name Cerbaiona was associated with the villa.
According to BBR, the property has an eastern exposition and sits at 350 m elevation on galestro (limestone shale infused with sand) soil.
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| Birds-Eye view of Cerbaiona and surrounds |
According to one version of the company's history, in 1978 Diego hired local growers to replant and extend the estate's vineyards using cuttings from the Biondi-Santi estate. The French magazine Vigneron asserts that most of the men had left the to work in factories and that Diego had "rolled up his sleeves" and jumped in. The magazine further stated that Diego had hired the famed Tuscan Sangiovese expert Giulio Gambelli but his approach to viticulture was still "romantic" in that:(i) the plant material was chosen without too many benchmarks and (ii) the planting density was randomly defined.
The traditional timeline stipulates that the estate began commercial production in 1981 and produced its first vintage in 1982. BBR, however, remarks about an even earlier vintage -- 1980 -- wherein 70 bottles were produced. No additional corroboration for the BBR claim has been surfaced.
In addition to the plantings in 1978, the estate was further expanded and replanted in 1986 and 2000. At the conclusion of this effort, the vineyard consisted of three blocks with 1.6 ha producing 6000 - 7500 bottles of Brunello; 0.6 ha producing 4,000 - 5,000 bottles of Rosso di Montalcino, and 3 ha devoted to Toscana IGT. Vine density in all of these plantings was less than 3600 vines/ha.
With the fruit yielded by this terroir, and his rejection of chemicals in the vineyard and selected yeasts in the cellars, Diego produced what Vigneron described as "deep and honest wines which reflect both the vintage and the poetic and hedonistic philosophy of their producer."
In the Fall of 2015, Molinari, now 84 years of age, sold the estate to a group of investors led by an American wine collector named Gary Reischel and Matthew Fioretti, who would assume the role of overall estate manager. The new management made a number of investments designed the improve the quantity and quality of fruit from the vineyard. First, they began a steady replanting with site-specific and disease-resistant clones planted at higher density. Second, they added 1.5 ha of Sangiovese vines on the steepest part of the estate. At the end of 2015, the estate converted to organic farming.
Grapes are harvested manually and transported to the winery where the best grapes are selected out on the sorting tables. After destemming (Mori paddle destemmer), the selected grapes are transferred to tricone wooden vats of 15, 25, and 30 hL for fermentation. Individual vineyard blocks are fermented separately using indigenous yeasts. Pumpovers are limited in order to avoid over-extraction.
Only free-run juice is used in the winemaking process. These wines are placed back into the fermentation vats to undergo malolactic fermentation and remain on the lees, with periodic stirring, until the Spring of the following year. In the Spring, the wines are transferred into 10, 17, and 20 hL oval Slavonian barrels for aging. The wines are aged for 30 months with a minimum of racking.
Between 10,000 and 15,000 bottles of Brunello di Montalcino and 3,000 to 5,000 bottles of Rosso di Montalcino are produced annually.
I have personally tasted multiple bottles of the 2001 and 2010 editions of this wine.
My introduction was at a Galloni tasting of top 2010 Brunellos. That night I found the 2010 Cerbaiona to be 'the best of the wines on display ... endowed as it was with finesse, elegance, layered complexity, and a wonderful balance." This wine continued to show well in subsequent tastings but still requires more bottle time to reach its peak.
The 2001 tends to earth, raspberry, cherries, rose petal, licorice, and herbs on the nose and rich, red cherry on the palate. Balanced, Integrated. Complex. lengthy finish.
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Diego Molinari created a standout, franchise wine and the reviewers sing from the same hymnal in describing his masterpiece. It will be interesting to see the impact of the management changes on how these wines perform and are perceived by the reviewers and the drinking public.
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