Pinino Brunello di Montalcino 2020

Pinino Brunello di Montalcino 2020 is an estate Sangiovese from one of the appellation's founding producers, first registered in the Brunello Consortium in 1950. The 2020 vintage comes from two distinct pedoclimatic zones on the estate, hand-selected after the top parcels have been set aside for the Riserva bottling, giving this wine the depth and structure Montalcino built its reputation on. The Costanti family acquired the property in 1874, and today it's stewarded by the Ferragamo family, who maintain the traditional long-aging protocols that define serious Brunello. The estate sits within the historic core of Montalcino, where lawyer Tito Costanti was among the first to champion Sangiovese Grosso as a world-class varietal in the late nineteenth century. The property changed hands several times over the decades, each steward intent on preserving the estate's place in Brunello's origin story. When Ferruccio Ferragamo's family took over, they committed to the winemaking principles laid down by Salvatore Ferragamo, emphasizing site selection and extended barrel aging. The vineyards are divided by soil type and aspect, and the fruit destined for this bottling is chosen after the Riserva lots have been earmarked, ensuring every bottle carries estate-level concentration. The wine shows intense ruby in the glass, opening with blackberry, plum, and a backbone of warm spice that comes from both the fruit's ripeness and the time spent in Slavonian oak. The palate is velvety and full-bodied, with the tannins smoothed by the minimum five years of aging required before release. Pair it with braised short ribs, wild boar ragu over pappardelle, or aged pecorino from the same hills where the vines grow. This is a wine built for the table, with the acidity and structure to stand up to rich, fatty dishes and the elegance to drink now or cellar for another decade. Pinino Brunello di Montalcino 2020 is available for pickup at Off Premise Chicago, 1128 W Armitage Ave in Lincoln Park, with local delivery across Chicago and shipping nationwide.