2021 Pietroso, Rosso di Montalcino 6x75cl

At the very same time that we were filling our boots with Sesti 1995 Brunello, we were also tipped off to another good source. Owner Gianni Pignattai seemed to enjoy the fact that his wines were going to be available in the UK, he’d never really exported much before, it had all been local and domestic trade.

It could be argued that this is a typical Decorum-esque outfit – a small (5 ha) family estate, where there’s also a record of vines having been cultivated since the 15th century. It’s also a traditional Montalcino winery. For example, the wines are matured in large (30 hl) barrels, ‘botti’ in Tuscany. Now, there was a time when the fashion was for smaller vessels, 225 litres, as used in Bordeaux. And the wood would be new, thereby imparting significant oak elements to the wine – this was all the rage, but was it authentic? Wines of this ilk started to taste a bit similar, a bit ‘international’. Not so here at Pietroso, everything true to the roots.