Cantina di Montalcino: contemporary winemaking with a respect for the past

As the winery enters a new era as part of the Prosit Group, innovation and renewal go hand-in-hand with continuity and tradition.

History runs deep in Montalcino. The stunning hilltop town of the same name is on the old main road between Rome and France, has been settled since the 8th century CE and was regularly caught up in the medieval power struggles between Siena and Florence.

And now one of the region’s wineries – the Cantina di Montalcino – is setting about the next chapter of its own history; one which nods to the past, yes, but is very much focused on the future.

A celebration of contemporary architecture

You can see it in the poetic curves of the winery itself: the striking modernity of the wave-shaped roof-line mirrors the hillsides and slopes of the region’s famous terroir; the giant circular glass windows a nod to the huge oak barrels in which the wines must be aged.

It is a building which acknowledges and respects the heritage, but does so in a way that is modern and forward-thinking. This is a winery with ambitious plans to be the modern face of Montalcino for many years to come.

Progress, yet continuity

The Cantina was founded in 1970, when a small group of growers banded together to pool their fruit and make wine. Now, five decades later, the winery takes grapes from 50 growers, though many of the founding families still contribute their crop every year. There is progress, but also continuity.

The Montalcino denominazione is bounded on four sides by river valleys and, unusually, almost perfectly square. From a terroir point of view it splits neatly into four quadrants. The winery is located in the north-east square, which is a place of gulleys, and sandy clay/marl soils. Next door, the north-west corner is cooler - fresh and breezy with richer soils.

The south-west quadrant has coarser, more crumbly soils and is also slightly damper, while the south-east corner is the warmest, driest region. Sheltered in a basin of hills, grapes here can ripen fully 20 days earlier than in the windy north-west.

Wine-wise this is the home to Brunello di Montalcino – the clone of Sangiovese that can give red wines of extraordinary concentration and longevity.

The Cantina di Montalcino members are responsible for 90 hectares of vines. They are all Brunello. But, scattered as they are across every part of the denominazione, with multiple altitudes, soil types, exposures and microclimates, they give a variety of expressions of the grape.

Fruitier, more open expressions are used for the Cantina’s Rosso di Montalcino wine, typified by flavours of bright hedgerow fruits – blackberries, currants and cherries. With softer tannins, it can age for several years, but is designed for drinking in the short to medium term.

The Brunello di Montalcino is a richer, more concentrated wine. Its flavours are darker, with added layers of truffle and prune; its tannins firmer, even after the minimum five years of ageing. It can be drunk on release, but improves with further cellaring – if you have the patience.

The most concentrated wine of all is the 4Q Riserva. Referencing the four quadrants of Montalcino, it is made by combining the best barrels of Brunello and is rich, intense and multi-layered.

These wines don’t just express the terroir of the region; they capture the essence of the Cantina di Montalcino itself – a winery that merges a respected past with a contemporary present and a trailblazing future.

See – and taste – for yourself!

There’s no better way to experience the winery and its wines than to visit. Situated just to the north of the town of Montalcino, and only 35km south of Siena, it’s very easy to get to from either of these stunning medieval towns and the winery is well set up for visits.

The Classic Visit (€25) gets you right into the heart of the Cantina. It comprises a walking tour of the winery and underground barrel cellars on a suspended walkway, followed by a trip to the tasting room to try three wines, including the current releases of the Rosso and Brunello.

But the tasting room offers many other sampling opportunities besides this. Visitors can try some of the Cantina’s older or rarer wines as well as bottles from the other wineries in the Prosit group.

These cover the full length of the country, from Puglia in the South, through Abruzzo up to the Veneto round Venice. It’s a chance to taste the full diversity of Italy, in one stunning, futuristic Tuscan location.

Book on the website: www.cantinadimontalcino.it