2007 Ciacci Piccolomini d'Aragona Brunello di Montalcino Vigna di Pianrosso D'Oro Riserva Magnums (1.5 L) Magnum

The Countess, The Gardener, and #9 on Wine Spectator’s Top 100

In the mid-1900s, the Ciacci and Piccolomini families 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 more than a 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 gardens. 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.

Twenty-seven years later, on November 21st, 2012, Wine Spectator named the 2007 Ciacci Piccolomini d’Aragona Brunello di Montalcino #9 on the list of the Top 100 Wines of the Year. But few outside Signor Bianchini’s inner circle had tasted the 2007 Ciacci Piccolomini d’Aragona Riserva — one of the greatest and highest-scoring Brunellos of the last two decades.

The 2007 Ciacci Piccolomini d’Aragona Brunello di Montalcino Vigna di Pianrosso Riserva was aged for four years in Slavonian barrels before bottling in 2012. After spending three years of bottle age, just 1,200 750ml bottles were shipped stateside — and 300 magnums.

Today, the last 72 BIG bottles of the 2007 Ciacci Riserva have been earmarked for WineAccess.

Brilliant ruby. The 2007 Ciacci Piccolomini d’Aragona Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Vigna di Pianrosso Santa Caterina d’Oro, like most of the powerhouse 2007 Brunellos, is big, broad, and muscular. Aromas of dark chocolate, black cherry, dried flowers, and black raspberry, tinged with cedar. Voluptuous on the attack, featuring a complex, mineral mix of crushed red fruits, rose petals, and sweet spice, and a splash of framboise liqueur, finishing with dusty Tuscan tannins. Drink now-2035 (out of magnum).

97 points from James Suckling. $300 on release. $195 today ONLY on WineAccess. 72 magnums are now up for grabs.