«The wood is chosen not to aromatise but to fully enhance the unique characteristics of our grapes»

By law, Brunello di Montalcino has to spend an ageing period of at least 24 months in oak barrels and can be released for sale only after 5 years have elapsed since the grape harvest. Wood is an instrument which can be used to improve the wine and, depending on the type of Brunello, either big old barrels or smaller casks are used.

Brunello “Etichetta Bianca” is matured in big barrels for 42 months, followed by six months in the bottle, Tenuta Nuova matures for 30 months in oak casks and 18 months in the bottle, Cerretalto spends 27 months in small barrels and 30 months in the bottle. The ageing process is also applied to the other Casanova di Neri wines – although it is not compulsory – because wood can emphasise their quality. In the same way, Pietradonice rests in small oak barrels for 18 months and 6 months in the bottle, while Rosso di Montalcino and Rosso Casanova di Neri mature in wood for a year.