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).

Professional Reviews

What importer Polaner Selections has to say about this wine...

Vineyard
The grapes for this wine come from the vineyards Scopeta, Pian dell’Orino and Pian Bassolino, which are situated from 320 m to 500 m above sea level; the age of these vines was from 13 to18 years at the time of harvest.
Orientation
Scopeta - 340m in elevation. Southeast exposition. Pian dell'Orino - 501m in elevation. South-Southeast exposition. Pian Bassolino - 340m in elevation.Southwest exposition.
Viticulture
Certified biodynamic
Vinification
Only healthy and ripe berries end in the vinification vat. Spontaneous fermentation started in one day, reaching a maximum temperature of 32°C, and taking 21 days until completion. The young wine then macerated for other 10 days on the skins.
Aging
After racking, the young wine was aged for 28 months in 25 hl oak barrels. The malolactic fermentation set in immediately following the alcoholic fermentation still in the fermentation vat. As always no artificial yeast or other enzymatic or technological additives were used during the whole winemaking process.