2021 Valdicava - Brunello di Montalcino DOCG (750ml)

Valdicava traces back to 1953, when Bramante Abbruzzese acquired a property in the Montosoli area of Montalcino, on land where his ancestors had once worked as sharecroppers centuries earlier. In 1967 he went on to found the Consorzio del Vino Brunello di Montalcino, the association still responsible for setting production standards across the appellation today. The estate takes its name from Val di Cava, the valley of the quarry, where the vineyards sit. Bramante's grandson, Vincenzo Abbruzzese, took over in the 1980s and has since built Valdicava into one of Montalcino's most sought-after and collectible producers, prized for wines of unusual concentration and structure built to age for decades.

The estate farms ten hectares of Sangiovese, planted exclusively in the cooler Montosoli subzone at around 350 meters, where a mix of clay, limestone, and galestro soils and cooling breezes off the surrounding forests shape wines of real depth. Yields are kept low through strict green harvesting, and the grapes ferment in temperature-controlled stainless steel before an extended aging period in large Slavonian oak casks, typically around thirty-six months, well beyond the appellation's minimum requirement.

The wine shows aromas of balsamic, tea, dark berry, walnut, and coffee bean. The palate is full-bodied yet tight and intense, with fine, ripe tannins that are racy and polished, carrying impressive length. Built for extended cellaring, it pairs well with braised beef, game, or aged pecorino.