Recommended by the New York Times, Wine Spectator, Food & Wines, and Many More. Check out our recent Press.

Award-winning NYC wine shop – free local delivery & fast nationwide shipping. Learn more

Cerbaiona, Brunello di Montalcino, 1997 (1.5L)

Red Wine from Tuscany, Italy
$750.00
Taxes and shipping calculated at checkout.
Use code 10OFF to get 10% off 12+ bottles
This is a magnum of 1997 Brunello from Cerbaiona's Molinari years, when a retired Alitalia pilot made a few hectares on a ridge east of Montalcino into one of the appellation's small jewels. Diego Molinari flew for 25 years before he and his wife Nora found the estate in the late 1970s. He was determined to follow the traditional path of Biondi-Santi, so he started out by visiting top estates and asking lots of questions. What he settled on is about as hands-off as Brunello gets. The Sangiovese Grosso was picked by hand and pressed in an old wood-sided press. It fermented in cement with no added yeasts or enzymes and went into bottle without fining or filtration. The land carries the rest: a galestro ridge facing northeast, sitting between northern and southern Montalcino, so the wine gets the south's ripeness along with the north's freshness and structure. The estate was sold in 2015, so every Molinari-era bottle is a piece of a closed chapter, and a large-format one is the kind you save for a table full of people. Because the wine is unfined and unfiltered, stand it upright ahead of time and decant it carefully off any sediment.

Shipping

Every step of the journey is managed to uphold the integrity of each bottle.

  • Nationwide Access: Flat-rate shipping available to most U.S. states with delivery in 3-5 business days.
  • Temperature-Monitored Shipping: We closely monitor weather conditions and make informed decisions to ensure shipments travel safely, with insulated packaging and refrigerated transport available when required.
  • Wine-Specific Protective Packaging: Specialized materials designed to maintain label integrity and prevent breakage during transit.
  • Provenance Assured: All wines are maintained in climate-controlled conditions at our shop until the moment of dispatch.

Returns & Exchanges

We stand behind every bottle we sell.

  • Corked wine? Full refund or exchange within 60 days
  • Damaged shipment? Contact us within 48 hours
  • Storage or quality concerns? We're here to help


View our complete return policy →

Have Questions?

Our team is here to help.

Hours

Sunday - Thursday: 12 pm - 8 pm

Friday: 11am - 9pm

Saturday: 10am - 9pm

Email: help@flatiron-wines.com
Phone: (212) 477-1315

Antonio Galloni

92 points

"Saturated, nearly opaque garnet. Reluctant aromas of violet and blackcurrant. Intense blackberry jam flavor explodes in the mouth, with dark berry notes continuing through the substantial, long finish. Richly textured, with full, ripe tannins and a bit of heat, this brooding wine offers an imposing Brunello experience." —Edward Beltrami

Robert Parker

88 points

"The ruby/garnet-colored 1997 Brunello di Montalcino is controversial, as well as a risky choice. Notes of Asian spices, soy, dried herbs, old leather, and damp earth are followed by a medium-bodied wine with extraordinarily high, nasty tannin. The aromatics are sweet, but in the mouth, the flavors are austere as well as lacking the concentration to support the structure. As always, time will prove which component triumphs. However, a quarter of a century tasting has shown that when the tannin is this high, it usually wins over the fruit." —Robert M. Parker, Jr.

Wine Spectator

91 points

"Intense aromas of saddle leather and plums that turn to cherries. Full-bodied, with very silky tannins and a jammy, cherry aftertaste. Impressive concentration."

More about Cerbaiona

Montalcino's twin peaks are Soldera and Biondi-Santi, but there's a small handful of estates that are gaining reputations as being right behind those two super-stars. At the top of the list is Cerbaiona. Diego Molinari, former owner and winemaker, has a similar story to Gianfranco. He retired after 25 years as an Alitalia pilot and bought a small estate in Montalcino in the late '70s. He has always been committed to traditional, "hands-off" winemaking. The wines are fermented with native yeasts in concrete and aged in large oak casks. The result is world-class Sangiovese, aromatic, elegantly-fruited and balanced by good structure and underlying savory minerality.

Wine Details

  • Grape Variety

    Sangiovese

  • Vintage

    1997

  • Size

    1.5L

  • Farming Practice

    Organic

  • Style

    Elegant

  • Sweetness

    Dry

  • Body

    Full Bodied

Flatiron's Take

From the Importer

What has to say about this wine:

Tasting Notes & Food Pairings

Perfect Pairings

Bistecca alla fiorentina, pappardelle with wild boar ragù, roast leg of lamb with rosemary and garlic, porcini risotto, aged Pecorino di Pienza.

Tasting Profile

Expect traditional Brunello di Montalcino: sour cherry and red plum with dried herbs, leather, tobacco and earthy, savoury notes. Typically full-bodied yet fresh, with bright Sangiovese acidity and firm, fine-grained tannins, finishing long and dry. Built to age, the style moves toward dried fruit, forest floor and truffle with time in bottle.

More wines from Cerbaiona

View all