2004 Gianni Brunelli le Chiuse di Sotto Brunello di Montalcino Riserva 750 ml

French Laundry and Del Posto’s 2004 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva

No one puts on a wine party quite like the Italians. Our three days at VinItaly were filled with animated tastings and conversations, culminating each night with a steady diet of minestra, gnocchi, ravioli, and roasted bird. Not to say, however, that we weren’t earning our keep on the back streets of Verona.

While most of the importers and collectors who attend VinItaly are focused on the latest releases, we always devote 20-30 percent of our time prying open the cellar doors of some of Italy’s most revered estates, looking to procure perfectly aged back vintages that are otherwise ticketed exclusively for the top restaurants in N.Y.C., the Bay Area, Milan, and Tokyo.

This morning, we’re starting things off with a BANG!

In 1987, Gianni Brunelli purchased Le Chiuse di Sotto, an estate that had belonged to his father Dino, with barely 5 acres of vineyards planted at 200 meters above sea level in the cooler northern hills above Montalcino. A few years later, Brunelli acquired Podernovone, a 10-acre parcel which, at 350 meters in elevation, commanded a magnificent view of Monte Amiata. While the wines of Le Chiuse di Sotto are always some of the most minerally fragrant and Burgundian of the appellation, the Brunellos drawn off the calcareous marl of Podernovone are darker and more powerful.

Since the early 2000s, after fielding steady requests from the likes of Marea, Jean-Georges, Del Posto, and Otto in N.Y.C., and Thomas Keller’s The French Laundry in Yountville, the winery began holding back small caches of their tiny Riserva production, doling out back-vintage allocations a few cases at a time — none more extraordinary than this exquisite 2004.

240 bottles are up for grabs, each shipped directly from the family’s chilly cellars in Montalcino. Please limit purchases to no more than 6 bottles per member! There are thousands of Brunello collectors in the membership. We’re trying to disappoint as few as possible!