Montalcino is a lovely little town where its medieval heritage is visible throughout the city. Besides several churches of great interest , among which The Cathedral (built in Neoclassical style), St. Egidio’s church, St. Agostino’s church and St. Francis’ church(with its beautiful cloisters), and The Priori’s Palace (with its beautiful façade covered with coat of arms), it’s definitely the Fortress that catches immediately the attention of the tourist arriving in Montalcino.

This beautiful and imposing building, constructed in 1361 using part of the existing walls, has been wonderfully preserved and its interior can be visited today.

But of course when we talk about Montalcino the first word that spring up to the mind it’s wine! The clones of Sangiovese Grosso, combined with the great Terroir of this wonderful area plus a technique of wine-making developed to the state of the art, have given birth to one of the most prestigious and best wines ever, the BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO.

Brunello di Montalcino is a visibly limpid, brilliant wine, with a bright garnet colour. It has an intense perfume, persistent, ample and ethereal. One can recognize scents of undergrowth, aromatic wood, berries, plums, leather, light vanilla and red and black fruits jam.

To the taste the wine has an elegant harmonious body, vigorous and racy, it is dry with a lengthy aromatic persistence.
Because of its characteristics, Brunello can be aged for a long time, improving as the years go by. It is not easy to determine exactly for how many years it improves. It depends on the vintage. It varies from a minimum of 10 years to around 30 years, but it can be kept for even longer. Naturally it must be kept in the right way: in a cool cellar, but above all with a constant temperature, in the dark, without noises and smells; the bottles should be laid horizontally.

Pairing food with Brunello di Montalcino: The elegance and the harmonious body of this wine allow for accompaniments of well structured and composite dishes such as red meats, game – both feather and fur, possibly accompanied by mushrooms and truffles. It also goes perfectly together with international cuisine dishes with a base of meats and sauces.

Brunello is also an excellent accompaniment for cheeses: seasoned tomes, Tuscan Pecorino cheese and other structured cheeses. Brunello di Montalcino wine should be served in ample shaped rounded crystal glasses, so as to gather its composite harmonious bouquet. It should be served at a temperature of 18°C-20°C. The very old bottles should be decanted before serving, in order to oxygenate them better and offer the wine in its total purity.

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