The Piandorino Toskana IGT 2021 from Pian Dell’Orino is the charming introduction to the world of Caroline Pobitzer and Jan Erbach: a dry, single-varietal Sangiovese from young vines and cooler vineyard sites around Montalcino, combining depth with drinking pleasure.
Deep garnet red with violet reflections towards the rim.
Nose
Seductively intense fruit of cassis, dark berries and sweet cherries, behind which lies a precise mineral-fresh component with lovely depth.
Palate
Juicy with seemingly sweet fruit, refreshing acidity and fine-grained tannins – it fills the palate beautifully and remains enticing and invigorating.
Character
An uncomplicated, accessible wine of uncompromising quality – a successful entry point into the estate’s top range.
Pairing
Classic lasagne, beetroot risotto with smoked burrata, or chicken leg with rosemary potatoes and red wine jus.
Notes
Spontaneously fermented, 20 days of fermentation and 23 months of ageing in a 25-hectolitre cask; the grapes come from Moro, Cancello Rosso, Pian dell'Orino and Pian Bassolino at 320 to 500 metres, from the biodynamically certified estate right next to Biondi-Santi.
Tasting note
Colour & appearance
Deep garnet red with violet reflections towards the rim – youthful, dense and inviting.
Nose
Charming and beguiling: intense fruit of cassis, dark berries and sweet cherries. Beneath lies a cool, mineral-fresh note that lends the wine remarkable depth and immediately makes you long for the first sip.
Palate
Juicy and uncomplicated: seemingly sweet fruit meets refreshing acidity and fine-grained tannins. The wine coats the palate beautifully while remaining light-footed and moreish – a Sangiovese that combines drinkability with substance.
Finish
Lively and clean, with lingering dark fruit and a fine mineral aftertaste.
Terroir & origin
In 2021, the grapes came from four vineyard sites: Moro, Cancello Rosso, Pian dell’Orino and Pian Bassolino, situated at altitudes of 320 to 500 metres. The soils are geologically diverse: strongly calcareous clays, marl, blue-grey Pliocene clays, Alberese and flysch, with Terra rossa making up half of Cancello Rosso. Caroline Pobitzer and Jan Erbach have even drawn up their own geological maps for their estate not far from Montalcino, right next door to Biondi-Santi; very few in the region work with such thoroughness. At harvest, the vines were between 9 and 23 years old.
Grape variety & vinification
100% Sangiovese, harvested on 12 September 2021; on the night of 7 to 8 April, the thermometer had dropped to minus 4 °C. After painstakingly precise sorting during the hand harvest, at the reception point and on the sorting table, the must fermented spontaneously for 20 days and was pressed off after four weeks; the wine then matured for 23 months in a 25-hectolitre wooden cask.
Food recommendations
A versatile food wine: delicious with lasagne, beetroot risotto with smoked burrata or poulet de Bresse leg with rosemary potatoes and red wine jus – in short, with traditional Italian cuisine.
Special features
The Piandorino is the entry point into the range of an estate that Antonio Galloni counts among the absolute top addresses in Montalcino. Here, Pobitzer and Erbach work strictly according to biodynamic principles, certified organic by ICEA and, according to the estate, biodynamically certified by AgriBio. They harvest at extremely reduced yields – no more than one bottle per vine – and refrain from any oenological interventions in the cellar. The 2021 impressively demonstrates that even the estate’s “small” wine receives this level of care: accessible, yet marked by the same uncompromising quality as the great Brunellos.
