Wines from Pian delle Vigne / Antinori

History

Pian delle Vigne is a Montalcino estate owned by the Antinori family. The family bought the property in 1995, and that same year saw the first Pian delle Vigne vintage of Brunello. The name comes from a railway station built on the land in the 19th century, and the old station still gives its name to one of the estate's best known vineyards, Vignaferrovia.

The land and the vineyards

The estate lies about 6 kilometres southwest of the town of Montalcino. Antinori's pages put the whole property at about 184 hectares, of which 65 hectares are planted to vines in older editions and 83 hectares in newer ones, so the planted area has clearly grown or been recounted over the years. The vines grow at roughly 130 metres above sea level, mostly facing southwest, where breezes from the sea help temper the summer heat.

The soils for the Rosso di Montalcino are calcareous clay, which the producer links to freshness and a mineral quality in the glass. Vignaferrovia is a plot of about 4 hectares beside the old station, with many small stones in the ground. Antinori's own pages describe its soil in two different ways, as clay with limestone in one place and as rocky and gravelly in another.

The wines

Brunello di Montalcino is the main wine here. It is made from Sangiovese and aged in large oak casks, a choice the producer says keeps the fruit and the character of the grape intact. A Rosso di Montalcino from the same land is the younger, fresher bottle in the range.

Vignaferrovia is the single vineyard Brunello and is made only in the stronger vintages. The producer's pages note that it was not bottled in 2005, 2008 or 2011.

Today

Pian delle Vigne remains in Antinori hands and carries on making Brunello and Rosso di Montalcino from the same southwestern slopes near the old railway station.

Founded

1995 (Antinori ownership and first vintage)

Area

About 184 hectares, with 65 to 83 hectares planted

Main grapes

Sangiovese

Owners

Antinori family