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Podere Brizio is a winery located not far from and slightly southwest of Montalcino on a hilltop. It has existed in its present form for less than ten years, but goes back to ancient origins. It belongs to the Bulgheroni Family Vineyards, founded or taken over by Alejandro Bulgheroni, an Argentine entrepreneur with Italian roots. Podere Brizio produces charming, organic and classically produced Rossi and Brunelli di Montalcino, which are also very moderately priced by Montalcino standards.
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Podere Brizio - Brunello & Rosso
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Alejandro Bulgheroni, born in Rufino in 1944 - but in Rufino, Argentina, not Italy - was only "infected" with the winemaking virus in 2006, as he himself puts it. He started with projects in Uruguay and California, then found his way back to his great-grandfather's country. The first winery he took over and had renovated from the ground up was the more than 1,000-year-old Dievole. Seven more wineries followed over time, including Podere Brizio.
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Consistently organic
As different as the wineries inside and outside Tuscany may be, they are based on the same understanding: certified organic cultivation is consistently practised. This is accompanied by sustainable management, and authenticity is always strived for. This means that grape varieties are used that are autochthonous to the region. The same is true for the form of cultivation, which respects the classic varieties of the region.
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The vineyards
For Podere Brizio, this means that the three wines produced, namely the Rosso di Montalcino, the Brunello di Montalcino and the Brunello di Montalcino Riserva, are all aged after spontaneous fermentation in large un-toasted vats of 5,400 litres, where they mature for twelve to 48 months. The Sangiovese comes from soils that have been farmed organically for a long time and have been certified since 2015.
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Responsible for the vineyards is Lorenzo Bernini, who in 2006, in addition to researching Sangiovese clones, has been intensively involved in organic vineyard management and has transformed soils that were depleted and hardened when he took them over back into »Spongi soils«. By this he means »sponge-like, spongiform, loose, permeable soils with very good drainage that let in, absorb or literally soak up oxygen and thus microbiological organisms and nutrients like a sponge.«
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Fabric Brunello
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Brizio is located in the part of Montalcino where the soils are quite clayey, sandy and rather marly. They differ from those of the northern part of the appellation, which is somewhat cooler and more characterised by calcareous soils. And so the wines appear full-bodied, silky and are accessible quite early.
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What stands out is the clarity and transparency of the wines, the precision and balance, which is further emphasised by the fact that wood is not used as a flavour component.
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Even the 2016 Riserva, whose real time is yet to come, is already great fun with plenty of air. The terroir runs through all three wines in a herbal and fragrant way. The Rosso is naturally the juiciest and most accessible with its fine-grained tannin. The Brunello seems creamy and powerful with very good potential as well.
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In the long run, the team at Podere Brizio will cautiously expand the portfolio. After gradually getting to know the terroir better, the first single-vineyard Brunello from the Vigna dei Lupi is under discussion.
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Text & wine expertise: Christoph Raffelt
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Photos: Podere Brizio Winery, photographer unknown
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Thank you very much & best regards,
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Your team from Living Wines
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PS: Did you get this email forwarded? Here you can go to the Wine letter register and receive a voucher for your first purchase.
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