Brunello is the result of an invention and an intuition. At the end of the nineteenth century, an exceptional cultural “humus” grew in Montalcino. A rarity for such a small territory to gather such an enlightened bourgeoisie – represented by historical families such as the Angelini, Anghirelli, Paccagnini and Costanti. In collaboration with the era’s leading scientists and writers and against Italy’s current thought, they decided to bet everything on the single vine, gruff and challenging, that proved to give its best in Montalcino. The spark ignited in the Greppo Estate, where the inventor of Brunello, the “Garibaldino” Ferruccio Biondi Santi, selected Sangiovese Grosso vinifying it in purity. After all of this, the day after official DOC recognition, one of Italy’s first, the Consortium, was founded in 1967. At the time, only a few farmers were aware of the incredible potential, and Primo Pacenti is remembered as one of them.
Thanks to the entrepreneurial spirit and dedicated work, known as the “Grande Opera” of Castello Banfi, Montalcino became an actual district in the mid-seventies. This initial momentum triggered substantial investments, from new vineyards to cellars, from marketing to communication, which raised the territory’s image. Brunello (first DOCG of Italy, in 1980) is internationally renowned, thanks to the historic local families, the most important Italian wine companies that also have vineyards in Montalcino, but also of entrepreneurs and famous people who have chosen it to produce wine. Since then, Brunello has reached top-tier judgments from the most influential world critics: The Wine Advocate, James Suckling, Wine Enthusiast, Wine Spectator, and Vinous by Antonio Galloni. Labels such as Biondi Santi and Case Basse are in great demand by collectors at major international auctions. Vineyards are worth up to 1 million euros per hectare for a lucrative 180 million euro business. The Brunello district’s current production is 14 million bottles, 9 of Brunello and over 4 of Rosso, 70% for export.
