Brunello di Montalcino Teatro Riserva

The smallest and highest cru: 0.7 ha at around 500 m, opening south like an antique amphitheater - hence the name and the Roman-theater etching on the label - planted in 1994 with the estate's first vines, on SO4. This is the second vintage bottled as Riserva (the 2019 was the first, judging by the release record; the estate itself does not spell it out). Farming is biodynamic (conversion 2018, Demeter 2022).

Spontaneous fermentation in cement at up to 30 C with a 40-day maceration, hydraulic basket press, then 42 months in a 21 hl cask and 20 months in bottle - roughly a year longer than the regular crus, on the DOCG Riserva cycle. No fining, no filtration. 2,548 bottles plus 120 magnums per the importer sheet.

2020 in Montalcino was a warm, sunny year: a wet June, hot dry July and August with a long rainless stretch, relieving rain in late August, harvest from mid-September. The consensus register is ripe and supple, approachable earlier than 2019 or 2021 but with real cellar life. 14%.