april, 2 2026
Four Brunellos. One hill. A story I didn’t expect
It all started with a chance meeting in the U.S. last November…
Reading time : 5 min
Some of the most beautiful things in wine start in a completely unexpected way.
This experience began last November, during my trip to the United States, from a casual meeting that turned into a conversation, and then into an idea.
That idea took shape last Saturday, when I was invited to host a private webinar for the International Food and Wine Society, a historic organization founded in London in 1933 by André Simon, built around a simple but powerful belief: that a deeper understanding of food and wine is not just about taste, but about quality of life.
Today, it brings together a global community of over 7,000 members, with a strong presence in North America through its many local chapters.
What I found truly inspiring is that, even after all these years, the spirit remains the same: creating meaningful experiences around the table, where curiosity and pleasure go hand in hand.
If this resonates with you, and you’d like to explore their world more closely, you can reach out directly at admin.americas@iwfs.org.
What we created together last Saturday was not a classic tasting. Each participant received a box at home with four bottles of Brunello di Montalcino from four different wineries, each one located on a different side of the hill.
From the very beginning, the intention was not just to taste, but to travel through Montalcino in a different way, discovering how much a single grape can change its voice depending on where and how it grows.
Wines featured:
- SanLorenzo (northwestern slope of Montalcino)
- La Gerla (northeaster slope of Montalcino)
- San Polo (southeastern slope of Montalcino)
- Talenti (southwestern slope of Montalcino)
Sangiovese is incredibly sensitive to its environment, and this is exactly what makes it so fascinating. In this tasting, we explored how exposure, altitude, soil composition, vineyard management and winemaking choices can shape completely different expressions, even when everything starts from the same variety.
What made it even more powerful was that all four wines were from the 2019 vintage, a year that I often describe as “by the book” in Montalcino, where balance came naturally, with ripe fruit, vibrant acidity, well-integrated tannins and a beautiful potential for aging.
Having the same vintage across all wines allowed us to focus entirely on the differences created by place and people.
And that is where something interesting happened.
You could feel that shift, that moment when wine stops being just a product and becomes a way to read a landscape, to understand choices, to connect dots.
It was not about deciding which wine was better, but about recognizing the identity of each one.
If you feel curious to experience this same journey at your own table, I’ve put together a mixed case with the four Brunello di Montalcino we explored, each one representing a different side of the hill.
For those who choose to explore it, I’ll share a private tasting video created specifically for you, to guide you through the wines and recreate the same experience at home.
The case includes: 1 bottle of Brunello di Montalcino SanLorenzo (northwestern slope of Montalcino), 1 bottle of Brunello di Montalcino La Gerla (northeaster slope of Montalcino), 1 bottle of Brunello di Montalcino San Polo (southeastern slope of Montalcino), 1 bottle of Brunello di Montalcino Talenti (southwestern slope of Montalcino).
To make the best out your tasting experience, you will also find: the official map of Montalcino (produced by the Brunello di Montalcino Consortium), a tasting booklet, Callegari wine key.
Limited quantities available for this selection 🍷
(shipping costs to the US included)
Otherwise, if you feel like starting your own exploration of Montalcino, you’ll find a selection of the four 2019 Brunello featured in the top section of my Toscana Wine Club, each one telling a different story of the same hill.
Because in the end, that’s what fascinates me the most about wine. Not just what’s in the glass, but everything that surrounds it. The place, the people, the choices, the subtle differences that make each bottle a small world to discover.
And sometimes, all it takes is four wines to see it clearly.
Ciao,
Claudia 🍷
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