Cerbaiona

Within the Montalcino district, the name Cerbaiona is synonymous with prestige and classicism, and indeed, with its strongly traditional style, this iconic winery represents one of the wine landmarks of the area. The estate was founded in 1977 by Diego Molinari from Rome, a former aeroplane pilot, who together with his wife Nota Tadros took over a 17th century manor house with adjoining vineyards, located north-east of the village of Montalcino. The local farmers had always known of the place's vocation and in a short time Cerbaiona's labels conquered the market. In 2015, the property was sold to a group of American investors led by Gary Rieschel, a passionate wine collector, and Matthew Fioretti, responsible for all managerial aspects of the estate. The two entrusted the agronomic and oenological aspects to the experience of Maurizio Bovini and introduced important innovations, including the complete conversion of the vineyards to organic methods.
The small estate of the Cerbaiona cellar is dedicated almost exclusively to Sangiovese Grosso, to which a very small percentage of Merlot is added. The vines benefit from the characteristic marl soil, characterised by a strong presence of sand, and the altitude of about 400 metres above sea level. In the vineyard, the management is entirely organic and the harvests are carried out strictly by hand with careful selection of the bunches. In the cellar, a minimalist oenology is adopted, involving spontaneous fermentation in truncated wooden vats accompanied by delicate extraction techniques such as manual punching-down and limited pumping-over. After complete malolactic fermentation, the Brunello di Montalcino wines are left to age for a long period in large Slavonian oak casks of 10, 17 and 20 hectolitres.
This is how the very limited production of Cerbaiona was born, constantly directed towards the pursuit of the highest achievable quality, often even at the expense of quantity, in order to respect the extraordinary and glorious quality standard of this cult place.