2009 Rosso di Montalcino

Stella di Campalto. The accidental winemaker. By now the story is pretty well-known: Campalto is given an estate by her father-in-law to help her pursue a passion for making olive oil. She decides to plant some vineyards with the help of the late Giuseppe Bianchini, the owner of Ciacci Piccolomini d'Aragona, and gradually begins making wine. Gianfranco Soldera and Piero Palmucci are her early points of reference. Not bad. Campalto's early wines show a winemaker with immense natural talent and vision. Just a few years later Campalto stakes a place for herself as one of the most promising young producers in Montalcino. Things are quite simple at the winery. The vines are farmed according to biodynamic principles. The winery is equally stripped down, with just the barest of essentials occupying space in the uncluttered, almost stark cellar. Tasting through the various lots and parcels from cask is always instructive and illuminating as the wines shed light on one of the most fascinating estates in Montalcino today.