A countess, a farmer, and Pianrosso

The palazzo dates to the 17th century, built by Fabivs de' Vecchis, Bishop of Montalcino and Abbot of Sant'Antimo. On September 16, 1868, Countess Eva Bernini Cerretani bought the estate at auction. On December 31, 1877, she sold it to the Ciacci family of Castelnuovo dell'Abate. Count Alberto Piccolomini d'Aragona, a descendant of Enea Silvio Piccolomini (Pope Pius II), married Elda Ciacci, and the bishop's palace took their name. In 1985 Countess Elda Ciacci left the whole property to Giuseppe Bianchini, the farmer of the estate. What does that southeast slope taste like when the fruit stays this firm?

James Suckling scored this 2021 Pianrosso 98 points on December 13, 2025. That reading is the reason to trust the glass. Giuseppe died in February 2004 and left the business to his children, Paolo and Lucia Bianchini. Paolo is the winemaker. Lucia heads administration and accounting. Alex, Paolo's eldest son, handles wine production and logistics in the modern cellar at Molinello. Ester, Paolo's daughter, handles public relations.

Marl, Amiata, and the Orcia

Pianrosso covers 11.69 hectares on the southeast slope of Montalcino, close to Castelnuovo dell'Abate and the Romanesque Abbey of Sant'Antimo, which dates to the 11th century. The vineyard runs from 240 to 360 meters on medium-grain marl from the Eocene. Mount Amiata stands behind it, and the Orcia River lies to the southeast.

The whole estate is about 195 hectares. About 50 hectares of vineyard are in production, and a little less than 40 are olive groves, set between Arna hill and the river. This bottle is entirely Sangiovese, from that single vineyard.

Large Slavonian oak, then the bottle

The fruit ferments in stainless steel and glass concrete vats. Cooling plates and jackets hold the temperature. The wine then spends roughly 36 months in Slavonian oak barrels of 20 to 62 hectoliters, and more than eight months in bottle.

A hologram on the capsule marks the bottle. Open it an hour before you pour it, and serve it at 64 degrees. The photograph is the tasting room, with the wood bar and the brick arches, where the estate pours the finished Brunello.

Ruby, red berry, and spice

The estate calls the color ruby red verging on garnet. The bouquet is intense and complex, fruit-forward and spicy, with ripe red berry and spice. The palate is warm, soft, and harmonic, with tannin, acidity, and savoriness in balance, and the estate says the wine has real cellar life ahead of it.

James Suckling scored this 2021 Pianrosso 98 points on December 13, 2025.

Wine-Searcher, checked on 2026-10-30, shows a market low of $79.93 and an average of $90.58 for this 2021. The corner above says so.

Tuscan pork ragu and porchetta

The estate names stewed and roasted meat and game, and it names hare, pheasant, and wild boar. It also calls the wine excellent with mature cheese. A Tuscan pork ragu takes the red berry and the spice. Porchetta takes the roast.