Montosoli

Montosoli is the most famous single hill in Brunello di Montalcino — a rounded rise just north of the town that is arguably the best-known single vineyard in Tuscany, and whose wines were already taking first prizes at Siena’s agricultural fairs under the old Fattoria di Montosoli before the Second World War.

The Terroir The hill climbs from about 280 to 350 metres, high enough to sit above the autumn fog that settles on the lower ground north of Montalcino and to escape the worst of the spring frosts. Its soil is a complex mix of marl, loamy rock and limestone — the galestro and alberese that underlie nearly four-fifths of the vineyards around it on the regional geological map. The slopes face several ways at once: Altesino’s vines look north, while Canalicchio di Sopra’s parcels near Le Gode face southeast. Montosoli is a hill, not a single exposure, and the name on a label says only part of the story.

The Critical Take What sets Montosoli apart is a combination that should not exist this far north: the floral perfume and mineral complexity of Montalcino’s original growing area joined to the big, chewy tannins and muscular backbone usually found in the south of the zone. The fruit is very ripe, with earthy depth, and the wines are approachable earlier than most northern Brunello while keeping the structure to age for decades. Altesino, which first bottled Montosoli on its own in 1975, still releases it only in exceptional vintages.

At the Table Its union of ripe fruit and perfume suits refined Tuscan cooking: pappardelle with a hare or duck ragù, roast guinea fowl, herb-crusted lamb, or a wedge of aged Pecorino Toscano. Decant a young bottle an hour or two ahead and serve at 16 to 18 degrees in a large Burgundy glass to lift its perfume; a mature bottle needs only to be opened. Unlike the most austere northern Brunello, Montosoli can give real pleasure within its first decade, and the great vintages go on developing for twenty years and more — buy them by the case if you can.

Benchmark Producers Altesino (single-vineyard Montosoli since 1975), Baricci (the hill’s modern pioneer, on Montosoli since 1955), Le Gode, Canalicchio di Sopra, Caparzo (La Casa).