Brunello di Montalcino
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100% Sangiovese. Fonterenza grows 4.2 contiguous hectares of hilly vineyards in San Polo, just southeast of Montalcino. Their crown jewel is a 1.6-hectare parcel called Vigna del Bosco, so named for the fact that the steep, south-facing, amphitheater-shaped vineyard is entirely surrounded by thick woods or bosco. The Padovanis planted Vigna del Bosco in 1999. The farming is certified-biodynamic. The site features complex galestro soils that vary quite a bit from top to bottom of the hill. They harvest it by hand in multiple passes.
Like their vineyard work, Fonterenza's cellar work is mindful and meticulous. The bunches are destemmed by hand and fermented spontaneously with native yeasts and a minute amount of sulfur in Slavonian oak vats with a maceration of 20 to 30 days (whether there are punchdowns or only a cappello sommerso varies with the vintage). Typically, the wine ages iin 50-hectoliter Slavonian oak botti for the first 2 years and then is moved into smaller botti for 2-3 more years. The wine is bottled without filtration or additional sulfur. The Padovanis do not release their Brunello until they consider it ready to drink, so inevitably the current vintage is "behind" most other Brunellos by at least a couple of vintages.