2015 Col d'Orcia Nastagio Brunello di Montalcino Tuscany 750 ml

We’ve coveted an allocation of Col d’Orcia for years, and we’re not the only ones with these rare Brunellos at the top of our list: Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate called the estate “among the most important and historic in Montalcino,” and just a few weeks ago, Decanter listed it as one of Brunello’s “must-know” properties. 

Needless to say, when Col d’Orcia turned out their greatest wine ever—the 2015 Nastagio Brunello di Montalcino, which scored 97 points AND landed on James Suckling’s 2020 list of Top 100 Italian wines—every retailer in the country wished they had a piece of the nation’s tiny supply. But only a handful will get their hands on it...

We’re thrilled to offer you the 2015 Col d’Orcia Nastagio, a true Brunello for the ages. The marriage of one of the region’s most celebrated terroirs and what Vinous calls “easily one of the top eight or ten Brunello vintages of all time,” it’s the kind of Italian wine you can build a cellar around—put it next to your precious Barolos, Barbarescos, and Biondi-Santis, and fill in the details from there. 

“This is one of the most powerful and structured Brunellos I have tasted from the 2015 vintage,” said Suckling in the gushing review that landed this wine among the best the Tuscany-based critic tasted all year. Ruby-garnet in color and abounding with aromas of Morello cherry, raspberry, black plum, cedar, dried earth, sage, and dried roses, it’s long and beautifully assembled, with a youthful palate that builds layers of cedar, herbs, and exotic spices as it goes.

We counsel patience with this one. It should come into its own in a couple of years, and drink beautifully for a couple of decades. But while you might be enjoying it years down the road, your only chance to get it might very well be right here and right now. 

Col d’Orcia means “hill overlooking the Orcia river,” and it sits in the UNESCO-designated Val d’Orcia, one of the most blessed parts of the Brunello di Montalcino region. A sprawling estate in this temperate zone free from fog, ice, and late frost, the certified-organic Col d’Orcia is not just planted with 350 acres of grapes, but studded with olive trees that have been thriving in this agricultural Xanadu for more than four centuries. 

Diverse plantings are essential to Col d’Orcia. In addition to the many acres of wheat and spelt (for pasta) planted on the property, proprietor Francesco Marone Cinzano and vineyard manager Valerio Chechi keep the vineyard seeded with clover, beans, mustard, and other plants with varying root depths—something that keeps the soil aerated, resulting in expansive, energetic wines.

Nastagio hails from one 20-acre south- and west-facing plot, which consists of beautifully draining clayish soil rich in limestone and sand. The site is planted with Sangiovese clones that date back to the 1940s, and have been rigorously selected in cooperation with the University of Florence. After a manual harvest and sorting in the vineyard, the grapes are sorted again in the cellar before undergoing a long fermentation that efficiently but gently extracts color and tannins.

Col d’Orcia matures in a traditional-meets-modern method: After spending one year in 500-liter French oak casks, the wine spends another year in large oak barrels before beginning its long bottle-aging regimen. Now, entering the sixth year after harvest, this Brunello is showing beautifully, and boasting some serious accolades. We’re thrilled to have it, and hope you take advantage.