2014 Ciacci Piccolomini d'Aragona Brunello di Montalcino 750 ml

The 2014 Brunellos are arriving stateside, and one of our favorite Brunello steals, the Ciacci Piccolomini d’Aragona, has wasted no time standing apart: It earned a 95-point score and Editors’ Choice selection from Wine Enthusiast, which put it at the top of the magazine’s list of Top-Rated 2014 Brunellos, alongside the $72 Le Chiuse and above the $84 Banfi Poggio alle Mura. 

Sourced from their stellar property in the Castelnuovo dell'Abate, the Ciacci Piccolomini d’Aragona has become synonymous with top-quality Brunello, and the 95-point 2014 shows why. With a beautiful fragrance of crushed flowers, pipe tobacco and cherry, it’s rich and layered on the palate, with concentrated Morello cherry notes laced with sandalwood, graphite, anise, and new leather. Super expressive with a mineral-driven finish, this is the kind of seductive Brunello character that keeps us, and Wine Access members, coming back to Ciacci every vintage.

Even before Ciacci Piccolomini d’Aragona established itself as one of the most sought-after Brunellos in Tuscany, the estate had a fantastic story. The property is partially located in a Unesco World Heritage site, and sits in close proximity to the medieval village of Castelnuovo dell'Abate and the 11th-century Romanesque Abbey of Sant'Antimo. It was in the Countess Elda Ciacci Piccolomini d’Aragona’s family for a century, and when she passed away in 1985, she did something shocking: She left it all to her estate manager.

That man was Giuseppe Bianchini, and for the next twenty years he did what the countess had never done. He planted vines in earnest, and focused on elevating the estate’s wines and bringing them to the world. 

After Giuseppe passed away in 2004, his son Paolo quit a promising professional cycling career in order to take over at Ciacci Piccolomini d’Aragona. It didn’t take long for him to assert himself as a winemaker: He placed a 2007 Brunello at #9 on Wine Spectator’s Top 100 Wines of the Year, and one of his 2012s was named one of the top 50 wines in the world by influential Italian magazine Gazzetta dello Sport.

Now, Paolo Bianchini is a big name in the world of Tuscan wine, and his Ciacci Piccolomini d’Aragona is one of our most consistent picks for top-notch Brunello at a reasonable price.