2007 Ciacci Piccolomini d'Aragona Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Santa Caterina D'Oro Vigna di Pianrosso DOCG 750 ml

The Countess, Her Gardener, and Wine Spectator’s Top 100

In the late 1800s, the Ciaccis and Piccolominis were joined by marriage. The families’ combined holdings made for one of Montalcino’s grandest estates. The vineyards and olive orchards were set in the warm southwestern quadrant of the appellation, where the cool waters of the Orcia River temper the hot Tuscan sun. The Palazzo, first built by the Bishop of Montalcino in 1672, was one of Tuscany’s most historic palaces.

For almost two hundred years, the estate was owned and operated by the family. But in 1985, the Countess Elda Ciacci Piccolomini d’Aragona passed away. She had no heirs. When the will was read, the octogenarian gossipers had one of the juiciest tidbits in years. In a scene right out of Peter Sellers’ “Being There,” the countess had left the entirety of Ciacci Piccolomini d’Aragona to her gardener, Giuseppe Bianchini!

In the years that followed, the gossip died down, particularly as Bianchini took to the vines with the same care and finesse as he had the countess’s flowers and vegetables. When Giuseppe finally passed away in 2004, leaving one of the most magnificent properties in northern Italy to his son and daughter, Ciacci Piccolomini was on the threshold of greatness. Eight years later, the gardener’s children, Paolo and Lucia, turned out two stunning Brunelli in the lush 2007 vintage that clinched the estate’s new stature.

On October 15, 2012, Ciacci Piccolomini hit the jackpot. The Bianchinis’ entry-level 2007 Brunello di Montalcino finished #9 on Wine Spectator’s Top 100. Released at $60/bottle, that plush, red-fruit powerhouse garnered 94 points. In the days that followed, every bottle was gone.

Somewhere, the countess and her gardener were smiling.

Deep ruby to the edge, Ciacci Piccolomini’s top-of-the-line Brunello, the 2007 “Vigna di Pianrosso Riserva Santa Caterina,” features pure, beautifully restrained aromas of raspberry, rose petal, and sweet spices, lightly tinged with dark chocolate. Fabulously plush and sensual on the attack, infused with black cherry and framboise liqueur. Wonderfully extracted, weighty, and dense, while still perfectly light on its feet. Finishes with firm backbone and excellent mineral persistence. Drink now-2025.

97 points from James Suckling, longtime European bureau chief at Wine Spectator. $115 on release. 240 bottles remain — each shipped directly from the cellars in Montalcino — at just $89/bottle. Shipping included on 3.