Brunello di Montalcino is a red Italian wine produced in the vineyards surrounding the town of Montalcino located about 70 miles (110 km) southwest of Florence in the Tuscany wine region. Brunello, roughly translated as "nice dark one" in the local dialect, is the unofficial name of the clone of Sangiovese (also known as Sangiovese Grosso) grown in the Montalcino region. In 1980, the Brunello di Montalcino was awarded the first Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita (DOCG) designation and today is one of the Italy's best-known wines.

Brunello di Montalcino is made 100% from Sangiovese. Traditionally, the wine goes through an extended maceration period where color and flavor are extracted from the skins. Following fermentation the wine is then aged in oak. Traditionally, the wines are aged 3 years or more "in botte" - large Slovenian oak casks that impart little oak flavor and generally produce more austere wines. Some winemakers will use small French barrique which impart a more pronounced vanilla oak flavor and add a certain fruitiness to the wine. There is a middle ground where the wine is aged in small barrique for a short time and then spends a longer sojourn in the traditional botte.

Most producers will separate their production between a normal and riserva bottling. The normale bottles are released on the market 50 months after harvest and the riserva are released a year afterward. The current aging requirements were established in 1998 and dictate that Brunellos are to be aged in oak for 2 years and at least 4 months in a bottle before release. Winemakers who intentionally stray from these rules and regulations can possibly receive a conviction of commercial fraud accompanied by an imprisonment sentence of up to six years.

Organoleptic characteristics

Brunello di Montalcino wine, when entered for consumption, shall have the following organoleptic characteristics:

• colour: intense ruby red with garnet red reflexes;
• aroma: intense, fruity and spicy;
• flavour: well-balanced, firm, with a rich texture of close-knit tannins, long final pleasant sensation