Rosso di Montalcino, Tuscany

Montalcino is a classic Italian medieval hill town, perched at 567m in the province of Siena, Tuscany. It is the home of one of Italy’s most prestigious red wines, Brunello di Montalcino DOCG, and Rosso di Montalcino DOC is its little sister wine.

Both are 100% Sangiovese, but whereas Brunello is matured for a minimum of four years before release and is one of Italy’s longest-lived wines, Rosso di Montalcino is required to be matured for only 10 months. While it shares the same distinctive location, it is a more accessible, earlier-drinking version of Sangiovese, less expensive and potentially very good value.

The town of Montalcino looks down from its eyrie-like position onto the surrounding vineyards. There are four distinct sub-zones and climates; namely northwest, northeast, southwest and southeast. In the north it is generally cooler with higher rainfall, while in the south it is warmer and drier.

There are a variety of soil types; for example, in the west the lowest parts lie at 200m and the subsoils are