Tuscany is an ancient land and Montalcino winemaking tradition runs deep. Which makes Jan Erbach and Caroline Pobitzer miracle workers of a sort.

Neither of them are locals (he’s German and she’s from Alto Adige),... Read More

Tuscany is an ancient land and Montalcino winemaking tradition runs deep. Which makes Jan Erbach and Caroline Pobitzer miracle workers of a sort.

Neither of them are locals (he’s German and she’s from Alto Adige), and yet their little estate has gone from being an exciting young estate to being one of Montalcino's flat out best.

Of course, they haven’t done it alone. They became tight friends with Stella di Campalto and Francesco Leanza (founder of Podere Salicutti), both of whom also began making wine in the ‘90s. They all share a passion for Sangiovese, organic and biodynamic farming, and the terroir of Montalcino. They even started an organization, Sangiovese Per Amico, to increase understanding and appreciation of the grape and its wines.

Erbach, who trained as a winemaker in Germany, makes the wines with a very light touch. It helps that the wine has the sort of effortless complexity that comes from diverse soils (clay, calcerous, stony) and different expositions and elevations (as high as 500 masl).