By rights, the location of Ciacci Piccolomini d’Aragona in the sultry southeast of the Brunello di Montalcino DOCG should make it especially vulnerable to the impact of climate change. And yet this family-owned winery continues to release wines full of elegance and precision. Richard Woodard finds out how.
So far and so rapidly has the star of Brunello di Montalcino risen in the wine universe that it’s easy to forget that, relatively recently, this was a poor area populated by subsistence farmers who sold off their grapes or made simple wines for their own consumption.
“Until 50 or 60 years ago, there were only 25 wineries in Montalcino. Now there are over 250,” says Alex Bianchini, winemaker at Ciacci Piccolomini d’Aragona, the Brunello estate owned by his father Paolo and his aunt Lucia. “I get this from my grandmother [Anna], because she tells me every day we have to remember that, 50 years ago, there was only potatoes, onions and rice for lunch. There has been a big development since then.”
Wine is but a recent chapter in the estate’s history, which can be traced back to the 17th century, including a palazzo built by Fabivs de’ Vecchis, Bishop of Montalcino. The tongue-twisting name is a consequence of the marriage between Count Alberto Piccolomini d’Aragona (a descendant of Pope Pius II) and Elda Ciacci, the Ciaccis having bought the estate in 1877.
When Countess Elda Ciacci died in 1985, she left the property to her farm manager, Giuseppe Bianchini, who had long wanted to make wine commercially. He had planted the first vineyards in 1983 and, in 1985, released the estate’s maiden wines: 20,000 bottles of Brunello and 5,000 bottles of Rosso di Montalcino.
Since then, production has risen to about 300,000 bottles a year – there is a Syrah, Fabivs, and a Merlot/Cabernet blend, Ateo, but Sangiovese is the dominant focus here, producing a pair of Rosso di Montalcinos (including Rossofonte, from older vines), a classic estate Brunello, and a pair of wines from the Pianrosso vineyard, including a Riserva only made in the best years.
Wine may have come relatively late to the story of this estate, but already there’s a feeling of continuity and consistency to the way in which the wines are made – possibly a consequence of family ownership. As Alex Bianchini helps his father Paolo with production, his aunt Lucia runs the administration and accounting, and his sister Ester handles sales, marketing and PR. “We are a family business, so we do more or less everything,” Bianchini says.
Much has changed, but the galestro soils of the Pianrosso vineyard, which Giuseppe Bianchini started planting back in 1985, have long been the source of Ciacci Piccolomini d’Aragona’s finest wines. “Pianrosso means ‘red soil’,” explains Bianchini. “These soils are really rich in iron and minerals thanks to the old volcano [Monte Amiata, to the south-east].”
However impressive the galestro soils may be, there is one inescapable fact about the Ciacci Piccolomini d’Aragona estate – in fact, it’s the first aspect that Alex Bianchini mentions when we meet: “We are the hottest area in Montalcino.” Throw in the inescapable impact of climate change and you’d expect the wines to be baked, super-rich and, well, just plain excessive. But they’re not.
Alex ticks off a list of beneficial factors: vineyards – certified organic since 2018 – planted at an elevation of 240m to 360m above sea level; the relatively proximity of the sea; the protection of Monte Amiata. “Perhaps during July and August it’s very hot, but we get good temperature variation,” he says. “It might be 15-18C in the evening, and 30-32C in the day. This is the perfect way to ripen the grapes in terms of aromas and colour. We have a very special microclimate.”
Those galestro soils conceal a few secrets too. Drill down and you hit clay – crucial in terms of water retention after winter or spring rains. “Two or three months without water is not a big problem,” says Bianchini. “Only two times in the last 25 years we had a problem with dry conditions, in 2003 and 2017. This was a problem for the young vineyards, because their roots don’t go as far down.”
The vineyards are located close to the Orcia river, which also helps to leaven the effects of the hot, dry months, bringing cooler evenings, although conversely it can be a problem if there’s a lot of rain in June and July. Bianchini cites 2014 as an example of this – so wet that no Pianrosso or Riserva was made.
There’s some human intervention too. The Bianchinis plant mustard and other cover crops, then press them down into the soil – a “green manure” which Alex says can create a 2-3C temperature difference – crucial when the mercury climbs into the mid-30s at the height of summer.
“The harvest time is the other secret,” he says. “Consider that, 20-25 years ago, we harvested at the beginning of October, or maybe 25 September. Now we are checking the grapes at the end of August, and sometimes the harvest can start in the first two weeks of September.”
In that context, 2024 was a throwback, with picking starting on 27 September, and finishing on 23 October. “A lot of people older than me say this is like a harvest from the 1990s or 1980s,” Bianchini notes. “In the last 15 years, every year is completely different, but mainly for the harvest time: today is earlier; tomorrow could be later.”
Attention is now focused on the 2020 and 2019 vintages, with Ciacci Piccolomini d’Aragona about to release its classic Brunello and Pianrosso 2020, plus the Riserva from 2019 – or, to give it its full title, Brunello di Montalcino Vigna de Pianrosso Riserva Santa Caterina d’Oro. The name is a tribute to Giuseppe Bianchini, who died in 2004 (just before the completion of the estate’s new winery), and who was three times garlanded as winemaker of the year in Siena’s Santa Caterina d’Oro awards.
The two vintages have some similarities – picking dates, general weather patterns – but 2020’s July heat has made its wines a little softer and more generous now, while 2019 displays more structure and tannic backbone. Both have plenty to recommend them, but you’d imagine most people might drink the 2020s while they wait for the 2019s to reach their peak.
Not that you can be entirely sure of how a vintage will evolve. As the Brunello di Montalcino DOCG abandons its star rating for vintages – a blunt tool at the best of times, replaced by a much more detailed and nuanced assessment of conditions – some perhaps overlooked years are getting a second chance.
“When the 2013s came out, people thought they were green, with a lot of tannin,” says Bianchini. “There was lots of rain during the year. It was hotter in August, but still only 28-30C, so not that hot. Today, when you open a 2013, you can find a perfect expression of Brunello for me, and a lot of my colleagues say the same thing – but people thought it would not be perfect for long ageing.”
If there’s one more secret to be unlocked about Ciacci Piccolomini d’Aragona, it’s the estate’s laser focus on tradition in terms of ageing. That means large-format Slavonian oak, and adherence to the “old regulations”: three years in wood for the classic Brunello and Pianrosso; three-and-a-half years for the Riserva. “We only use big barrels for Sangiovese,” says Bianchini. “Brunello was born in big barrels, with Biondi-Santi.” The classic Brunello spends seven to eight months in bottle before release (the mandatory minimum is four); the Riserva more than 18 months.
The approach is perhaps best summed up in the management of the four plots that make up the Pianrosso vineyard, totalling 11 hectares. When the decision is made, during harvest, to try to make a Riserva, the grapes are picked for the Brunello Pianrosso wine, but one bunch per vine is left behind to ripen further for another week, concentrating the flavours.
The yields from the Pianrosso plots are eyewateringly low at the best of times – about 5,000kg/ha, versus closer to 7,000kg/ha for the rest of the estate. “We prefer to stay lower than the minimum, because we prefer to focus on the quality,” says Bianchini. “Less is more… in the wine world, very often, less is more.”
By Richard Woodard
Ciacci Piccolomini d’Aragona, cantina dei fratelli Bianchini, conta su una vocazione straordinaria dei suoi vigneti, tra le più rilevanti dell’areale di Montalcino. Siamo, infatti, nel quadrante sud-ovest della denominazione, nella striscia di vigneti lungo la strada di Sesta, tra i borghi di Castelnuovo dell’Abate e di Sant’Angelo in Colle, dai terreni sassosi e ben esposti. Il Brunello di Montalcino Vigna di Pianrosso Riserva 2019 profuma di ciliegia, marasca e erbe aromatiche, con tocchi floreali, speziati, tostati e di pietra focaia. Il suo sorso è intenso, avvolgente e generoso, dai tannini compatti e austeri e dal finale ancora su toni fruttati e su di una nota che sa di liquirizia a congedo.
The newest Brunello di Montalcino Riserva feels like a vintage straight out of a James Bond movie, where the secret agent asks for a bottle of the newest famous Italian red with great confidence – “The 2019 Riserva Brunello, please” – instead of his usual Bollinger Champagne.
That’s how a producer put it to me when describing his take on the singularity of the 2019 vintage, and our initial tastings perfectly capture the consistency and quality of this remarkable year.
The greatest Brunellos – those with balance and readily apparent aging potential – are historically harvested in October, and this was no different for the 2019 vintage, which produced wines with amazing balance, structure and freshness alongside concentrated fruit.
James, Senior Editor Jacobo García Andrade and I rated 104 2019 Brunello di Montalcino Riservas in early December in our tasting office in Tuscany and were elated with the results. Just like the “normal” 2019 Brunellos, these are wines with class and verve. It’s a vintage not to miss if you love quintessential Brunellos that recall classic years like 2016, 2010 and even 1997.
In Montalcino, nestled in southeastern Tuscany between Siena and Mount Amiata, the grape-growing season in 2019 was warm without excessive heat spikes, and rain arrived at just the right times. It was a harvest that unfolded smoothly, offering winemakers clarity and ease in interpretation.
According to official data from the wine producers organization Consorzio del Vino Brunello, winter saw slightly above-average temperatures compared with recent years, with subzero lows mostly in early January. Rainfall was concentrated between Jan. 18 and 25 and in the first days of February, totaling about 70 millimeters over two months. Budbreak occurred on schedule, aided by around 100 millimeters of rain and average temperatures of 10 degrees Celsius (50 Fahrenheit) from March through May.
This weather conditions slowed vine growth by roughly two weeks – a positive factor for sangiovese heading into summer. June and July were largely dry, except for a significant storm that delivered about 70 millimeters of rain over two days at the end of July. Average temperatures during the two months ranged between 20 and 25 degrees Celsius, with only two days peaking at 35. August followed with minimal rain – just 20 millimeters around Aug. 25 – and high temperatures that consistently averaged from 30 to 35 degrees Celsius. This was a relatively cool growing season for Tuscany, considering that many recent hot and dry years have featured summer temperatures hitting 40 degrees Celsius and above for multiple days in late July and August.
Thanks to healthy water reserves and moderate temperatures, the vines’ foliage remained fully intact, enabling a slow and even ripening process ideal for achieving optimal phenolic maturity. Rainfall in early September delayed harvest slightly, helping to moderate alcohol levels in the grapes. A mild, stable September pushed picking into early October, delivering perfectly balanced fruit.
The resulting wines display remarkable intensity and definition, with clean aromas of fresh fruit and dried flowers. The best examples offer depth and balance, combining refined tannins with both grace and power, and are drinkable now but also have strong aging potential.
Despite their obvious quality, the release of the 2019 Riservas, on Jan. 1, was somewhat restrained, with some wineries, such as Biondi-Santi, opting not to produce Riservas, favoring single-vineyard selections instead. In fact, James and I tasted just over 100 Riserva wines from a region with more than double the number of producers.
“An increasing number of our members prefer to focus on selections from single vineyards or single barrels, releasing them as Brunello annata because the Riserva, with ongoing climate change, requires an aging process that many consider too long,” Andrea Machetti, the director of the Consorzio del Vino Brunello, explained.
The shift was evident as early as the 2018 vintage, but the change was attributed to the lighter profile of the wines that year. However, the quality of the 2019 Riservas is on a wholly different, exceptional level, so the relative paucity of offerings will be more keenly felt.
Alessandro Mori of Il Marroneto said about 2019: “It was a straightforward vintage, with water and sun arriving at the right times. Even the acclaimed 2016 was less consistent.”
Interestingly, Mori did not produce a Riserva in 2019 but will for 2020, which will make it only their second Riserva ever, following the 2013.
“For us, 2020 was better,” Mori said. “We’re in a high-altitude position, and the musts require more time to mature. As Mario Cortevesio [the renowned Brunello winemaking consultant] used to say, ‘Wine needs its time.’”
Roberto Giannelli of San Filippo, on the other hand, said he thought he had produced “my best Riserva ever,” with the San Filippo Brunello di Montalcino Le Lucere Riserva 2019.
“In my opinion, the 2019 Riserva stands out for intensity and finesse,” he said. “We’ve managed to combine elegance and strength – a rare feat for sangiovese."
Across Montalcino’s unofficially defined zones, the quality of 2019 Riservas shines across the board. From the warmer, sandier lower areas like Banfi’s Poggio all’Oro and Ciacci Piccolomini’s Pianrosso Santa Caterina to the higher elevations in the east, home to Gianni Brunelli and Salicutti, and even in the northwest around Castiglion del Bosco, there is remarkable, excellent consistency.
The two best examples are the full-bodied yet weightless Valdicava Brunello di Montalcino Madonna del Piano Riserva 2019, which has “breathtaking purity of fruit” alongside its depth and presence, according to James, as well as the Casanova di Neri Brunello di Montalcino Cerretalto 2019 (not marked a riserva but a single-vineyard Brunello released at the same time), which he enthusiastically described as “seductive” with “incredible depth” and questioned if it was the “wine of the vintage.”
Just a step below is the Ciacci Piccolomini d’Aragona Vigna di Pianrosso Santa Caterina d'Oro Riserva 2019, from owner-winemaker Paolo Bianchini. This is a graceful interpretation of the pebble-soil terroir in Bianchini’s vineyards near the Orcia River, with its ripe yet fresh aromas showing plums, cedar, rose petals and hints of leather. The polished tannins here are powerful but reserved, showing great presence and character. In all, it’s a “monumental” wine, according to James.
The classy and traditional Livio Sassetti Riserva 2019, meanwhile, shines for its transparency and ultra-fine texture, while the Poggio di Sotto Riserva 2019 confirms its consistency after being one of the standout samples from last year. It’s silky and graceful but you can also bet on it for the long haul.
Another wine deserving of mention is the Gianni Brunelli Riserva 2019, which is probably the best ever from the estate. It shines with its youthfulness and shows telltale raspberries fresh with smoky-woodland and licorice depth alongside amazing structure. Like many of the Brunello Riserva 2019s we tasted, it has all the hallmarks of the vintage in that it is classic, balanced and is meant for exquisite aging.
– Aldo Fiordelli, Senior Editor
