Piandorino Toskana IGT 2020

Dark and calm, this Sangiovese flows floral and elegant, without ever shedding its spice and earthiness. Fruit, breed and elegance interlock closely.

The grapes grow in the Moro, Cancello Rosso and Pian Bassolino vineyards at 320 to 480 metres above sea level, facing south-east. The soils range from calcareous clay through weathered marl and blue-grey Pliocene limestone to Alberese and flysch. Caroline Pobitzer and Jan Erbach have farmed their six hectares of Sangiovese near Montalcino strictly biodynamically since 1997 and have mapped the geology of their parcels themselves.

100 percent Sangiovese from young plantings, experimental parcels and cooler sites; the vines were between 7 and 13 years old at harvest. Hand-picking is followed by sorting in the vineyard, on intake and at the sorting table, then spontaneous fermentation and 18 days on the skins. The wine matured for 17 months in a 15-hectolitre cask and reaches the glass dry at 13.5 percent alcohol by volume.

The nose leads with plum and elderberry, joined by cassis and raspberry, rosemary and sage, undergrowth, resinous bark, pine and cypress, finishing with black pepper. On the palate it is silky, almost smooth, until fine-grained tannin and gripping acidity set the structure. The fruit dries out almost entirely, leaving the finish to spicy, earthy notes.

Braised beef with dried pointed pepper and potato-leek purée, charcoal-grilled monkfish with smoked red pepper nage, or rack of lamb with broad beans and olive-rosemary jus.

The Piandorino is the estate's entry-level wine. Pruning follows the lunar calendar, chamomile tea replaces chemical treatments, and in the cellar it's all about spontaneous fermentation and large wooden casks without oenological intervention. The yield rule: one vine, one bottle.