Castelnuovo dell'Abate

Castelnuovo dell’Abate is the southeastern subzone of Brunello di Montalcino, a hamlet about ten kilometres from the town along the ridge that runs down from Montalcino, gathered around the twelfth-century Abbey of Sant’Antimo — and one of the most exciting places in the denomination today.

The Terroir The best vineyards face south, southeast and west at 200 to 450 metres, many of them around the Castello di Velona, looking out toward Mount Amiata. The zone is warm but escapes Sant’Angelo’s scorching heat: the ridge descending from Montalcino blocks the hot sea breezes, and the Orcia river below sends cool air up at night, a wide day-to-night swing that lengthens the growing season. The soils are the most varied in the whole denomination, an unusual mix of ancient and recent deposits. Most of the best vineyards stand on calcareous marl with shale — the formation geologists name after Castelnuovo itself — while the valley floor below the village is river-laid.

The Critical Take Castelnuovo Brunello marries rich fruit to a penetrating mineral note and gripping complexity: an earthy elegance that combines power and grace. Its potential went untapped for years: wine here was made on a tiny scale for family tables until Mastrojanni released its first Brunello in the mid-1980s and surprised critics with its depth and balance. Local farmers then took winemaking seriously, estates from elsewhere in Montalcino planted here to add body to their more delicate northern wines, and outside investors followed — Piero Palmucci’s Poggio di Sotto became one of the benchmarks of the whole denomination.

At the Table Concentration and mineral freshness make these wines superb with substantial, savoury cooking: braised beef, wild boar ragù, roast lamb, game birds and aged sheep’s cheeses. A young bottle benefits from a two-hour decant; serve at 16 to 18 degrees in a large Burgundy glass. The wines reward ten to fifteen years and, in the finest vintages, keep developing for twenty-five — set one beside a Brunello from the warm southwest to taste what the marl and the night air add.

Benchmark Producers Mastrojanni, Poggio di Sotto, Ciacci Piccolomini d’Aragona, Uccelliera, Stella di Campalto.