James Suckling 94 - A firm, silky red with lots of chewy tannins, as well as blueberry, blackberry and chocolate character. It’s full and tight with lovely presence and intensity.”

SOIL- Soils are left to grass between the vines naturally, so no processing is carried out

VITICULTURE - The vineyard is located at the highest point of the Montalcino hill about 636 meters above sea level. This plot of land belonged to Elena's side of the faimly since the early seventies. Back then, such high elevation was not considered a typical position for growing grapes in the region, but Elena's grandfather planted 2.5 acres of vineyards in 1997 to meet growing demand for Brunello. Today, the vineyard plot and 'Le Pope' wine is considered a jewel amongst the Montalcino wine district. Milde summer climate, with a constant coool breeze has created a unique microclimate in Montalcino which allows for a slow maturation, perfect acidity, and pH balance.

VINIFICATION - The vinification process looks to maximize color extraction with a short maceration, generally less than one week, to achieve a high level of elegance and velvety texture of the tannins. The first 24 hours of fermentation take place at a controlled temperature of 35°C, then continues for another 8 days at a temperature of 30°C. Pumping over 4x per day. 20% of the malolactic fermentation is carried out in French oak barriques and 80% in steel tanks.

AGING - The aging differs from regular Brunello. The wine does not sit in 225 liter French oak barrels.  Instead, it is racked into 30hl (800 gallons) casks of Slavonian oak (more precisely from the part of the forest in the Austrian territory). It remains in cask for 3 years of aging before release