Description
Pierre-Jean Monnoyer of Casa Raia, right outside Montalcino in the heart of the Brunello DOCG, makes one of the most profound wines in the appellation.
He took a bit of “scenic route” before landing as a vigneron, even doing a stint farming tea in China. Nevertheless, he ended up back in Europe, and brought a new perspective to the little 4 hectare farm that would become his home.
Included in this tiny parcel of vines is an even smaller 1.1ha historic plot planted by Biondi-Santi, one of the most well-known names in Brunello. When he took over, the vines had become quite old and extremely low yielding, nearly to the point of necessitating a replanting. Previous chemically-intensive farming practices didn’t exactly help either. Pierre-Jean, however, nursed the entire site back to life, with regenerative farming practises and increased biodiversity.
Only those old vines from the aforementioned plot go into the Brunello. It is fermented on indigenous yeast, and aged in traditional 3000 litre botte; though, being a Frenchman, Pierre-Jean couldn’t settle for the likewise traditional Slovenian oak. He ages his Brunello in 3000 litre French oak bottes for four years before bottling as opposed to the DOCG minimum of two years.
The wine shows typicity and terroir expertly with a complex melange of herbal and tobacco and tomato-like notes over full-bodied and tensile red fruit. Rich, taut acidity, and huge but beautifully ripened tannins coat your entire palate. It’s powerful, structured, and built to last.
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