Brunello di Montalcino was first mentioned in records dating back to the early 14th century and in 1888 Biondi Santi was the first to bottle the modern version of Brunello di Montalcino, a wine made in an exceptional vintage that was aged for over a decade.

By the end of the Second World War, Biondi Santi had only ever produced 4 vintages of Brunello di Montalcino and it’s scarcity drove prices to the stars. The profitability of such a wine encouraged other producers in the area to emulate his success and by the 1960s eleven producers were making Brunello di Montalcino. In 1968 the area was granted DOC status and in 1980 Brunello di Montalcino was the first DOCG wine in Italy.

Brunello di Montalcino is made 100% from certain clones of Sangiovese grape that were locally known as “Brunello” roughly translated as “little brown one”. These adapted well to the area’s warm, dry microclimate and the name Brunello referred to the deeper colour that grapes have here compared to those grown in other parts of Tuscany, such as Chianti.