2018 Le Ragnaie Brunello di Montalcino Tuscany 750 ml

When Raj Parr speaks, the wine world listens.

So when this immensely respected sommelier, winegrower, consultant, and author declared Le Ragnaie one of his top three favorite producers in Montalcino—with the other two often fetching $200 and up—Ragnaie’s icon status shot up fast.

Inspired by Grand Cru Burgundy and classic producers such as Biondi-Santi, Ragnaie’s owner-winemaker Riccardo Campinoti prioritizes elegance over power and ripeness. This bottling has earned a spot on MICHELIN-starred lists all over the world, moving Vinous’s Antonio Galloni to marvel at what “can only be described as a virtually unheard of level of success in less than a decade.”

In 2018, Campinoti used ALL of the fruit from his Fornace (“Furnace”) vineyard in the more southerly Castelnuovo dell’Abate—a wine that typically sells for $150—to complement and add power to the more delicate fruit of his Le Ragnaie vineyard, the highest vineyard in all of Montalcino.

In The Sommelier’s Atlas of Taste, Parr notes that the best vines of Montalcino are planted on the hillsides surrounding the town, where Brunello’s forefathers first conceived of its potential greatness: Biondi-Santi ($170), Salvioni Cerbaiola ($147), Il Marroneto ($194), and Le Ragnaie, which Parr singles out as a classic. Le Ragnaie’s organic vineyard sits at 2,000 feet above sea level—where cooling breezes combine with limestone soils to set the tone for the region’s prettiest expressions of Sangiovese. 

Wonderfully balanced, Le Ragnaie wines maintain the earth-driven elements you’d expect from Tuscan Sangiovese in a combination that’s impossible to imitate because of the estate’s singular terroirs. Native-yeast fermentation in concrete tanks and aging in large Slavonian oak casks for three years bestows polish, sophistication, and balance on this wonderful Brunello.