Francesco Marone Cinzano, I’m here in Col d’Orcia since 1991. My family arrived here from Piedimont, from north of Italy in the early ’70s. In those days Brunello was very little known even in Italy, so my father had quite some flare in deciding to establish here. We contributed a fair amount to the growth and the distribution in Italy and over the world of Brunello di Montalcino. In line with the family history, which has always been characterized by innovation and quality in production of wines, we introduced a new category of San Giovese here in Montalcino, Rosso di Montalcino, which is the young everyday wine that you can enjoy more often than Brunello. 

We also use the extensive distribution network that we have had for many generations in our family to make Brunello known around Europe and beyond. Today Col d’Orcia is considered one of the historic producers of Brunello di Montalcino. We are the largest, traditional wine producers in Montalcino and soon to become the largest wine producers in Tuscany, certified organic. 

 We like our wines to be really traditional that’s why we use these large barrels that you can see behind me, large barrels which have been used for well over a century here in Montalcino. They require a longer time of aging for the wine, but they also deliver, in the bottle, a wine that will last a long time. 

One of the main characteristics of sangiovese, the grape that we use for Brunello di Montalcino, is high level of acidity, and high level of acidity really helps to make your mouth water when you’re having a meal. We interpret the production of wine as a bottle that has to go on the table, a bottle that is as important as the one of olive oil on the dinner table and really a complement to food.

Another of the characteristics of sangiovese is the very important tannin load in most vintages, in all the important vintages at least. The evolution, the taming down of these tannins, the rounding up of the tannins is the process that takes place during the aging, both aging in the barrel, to begin with, and then in the bottle before the wine is released and after it is released overtime, over the decades until you get really silky and smooth wine that has lost the grip of young tannins but has retained the depth and the power of the original wine.