Uses a clone owned by Biondi Santi
Cerbaiona is located in the area called Cerbaia, about 4km southeast of the town of Montalcino in the province of Siena, and about 15 minutes by car east of Biondi Santi, known as the founder of Brunello di Montalcino. Cerbaia has been known as a farm since the 14th century, and olive oil and wine have been made there since ancient times by tenant farmers who originally lived here. As time went on, several wineries were built near Cerbaia, and the most famous of them is the farm that would later become Cerbaiona, which was established in the late 18th century. In fact, until the mid-19th century, Cerbaiona and Cerbaiona were separate parts of a farm owned by a certain family. In the late 19th century, different owners appeared for each winery, and they became separate wineries. Cerbaiona has been owned by Diego Molinari since 1977. Diego, a former pilot with 25 years of experience with Alitalia, had a strong passion for wine and decided to move to Montalcino after his retirement. When he first purchased the winery, he had a lot of passion, but because he came from a different industry, he had no knowledge of winemaking. However, he did not want to hire a winemaker from outside, so he first studied related books and visited several wineries to gain a deeper understanding of the cultivation and winemaking process. Among them, he was most influenced by Biondi Santi, and he especially sympathized with their attitude of respecting tradition. Therefore, when Diego first planted the vines in 1977, he used a clone owned by Biondi Santi called BBS11 (Brunello Biondi Santi, vine no. 11), and released his first Brunello in 1981 using grapes from this vineyard.
We want people to experience the essential beauty and preciousness of wine with pure curiosity.
Meanwhile, Cerbaiona, owned by Giulio Salvioni, released its first Brunello in 1985. Giulio says, "It was none other than Diego who encouraged me to plant grapes. The unusual cold wave of 1985 destroyed the olive trees that had been planted in Cerbaiona for generations, but thanks to Diego's advice, I decided to plant grapes." Currently, Cerbaiona owns 4 hectares of vineyards. The vineyards are about 350 to 400 meters above sea level, and the plots are divided into three major areas depending on the year the grapes were planted (1977, 1986, and 2000). The soil is made of marl called Galestro, which is unique to Tuscany. The grapes are grown organically, and the wine is brewed in open wooden fermentation tanks of different sizes: 15hl, 25hl, and 30hl. Natural alcoholic fermentation is carried out using natural yeasts. To avoid excessive extraction, remontage is kept to a minimum, and the bunches are pigeaged by hand. Malolactic fermentation is carried out in the same vessel, and the wine is left in contact with the lees until the spring of the following year. It is then transferred to large Slavonian oak barrels of 10hl, 17hl, and 20hl, and barrel aged for 12 months for Rosso and 30 months for Brunello, which exceeds the regulations. At Cerbaiona, not only do they select the grapes at harvest, but they also select each barrel in the cellar. With a thorough quality policy that will downgrade everything if they are not satisfied with the quality, the winery rose to stardom in just a few decades after purchasing it. In addition, the total annual production volume is 20,000 bottles, making it extremely rare, and it has also established its status as a cult Brunello. However, Diego, who was in poor health, decided to sell the winery at the end of 2014. Then, in 2015, investor Gary Reichel and former Biondi Santi consultant Matthew Fioretti and others purchased Cerbaiona. In February 2017, the winery, under its new structure, wrote a letter to journalists stating that it was completely forbidden to give scores or reviews to our wines, throwing a stone into the current wine industry where numerical evaluations are rampant. The idea of tasting the essential beauty and preciousness of wine with pure curiosity, rather than evaluation, is a sure sign of Diego's commitment to respecting tradition. There is no doubt that the winery will continue to be the top producer of Brunello di Montalcino in the future.
