La Torre, Brunello di Montalcino DOCG

There are wines that are simply the greats of their region—bottles that deliver year after year, wines that, when I see them on a wine list, I order without hesitation because I know exactly what I’m getting. La Torre is one of those benchmarks: a consistently brilliant Brunello di Montalcino, from a region widely regarded as the greatest wine of Tuscany, and by many, the greatest in all of Italy. Vintage after vintage, this is a bottle I trust implicitly, whether I’m opening it young with friends around the table or pulling it from a cellar years later when it has fully found its voice. And this isn’t just my opinion, La Torre earns serious respect from critics year after year, and the 2020 vintage was met with near-universal acclaim from every major voice that matters. As it should be. The 2020 is exceptional, luxurious in texture yet strikingly elegant, highly aromatic, and deeply satisfying today, all while resting on a frame that will only gain complexity with time. This is Brunello firing on all cylinders, without ever needing to raise its voice.

To understand why La Torre earns that trust, you first have to understand Brunello di Montalcino itself. Officially recognized in 1966 and elevated to DOCG status in 1980, Brunello is one of the most tightly regulated and historically important wine regions in the world. By law, it must be made from 100% Sangiovese and aged a minimum of four years before release. But Brunello is defined as much by geology as by statute. Montalcino rises as a lone hill from southern Tuscany, shaped by millions of years of geological upheaval as ancient seabeds were lifted, fractured, and eroded. What remains is a complex patchwork of soils layered over limestone bedrock, each slope and exposure imprinting a distinct character on the wines.

Among the most important of these soils is galestro,a friable, schist-like marl formed from compressed clay and limestone that breaks apart easily into sharp, plate-like fragments. Galestro drains exceptionally well, forces vines to dig deep, and naturally limits vigor, resulting in smaller berries, thicker skins, and greater concentration. It amplifies structure, savory complexity, and aromatic lift in Sangiovese, and it plays a central role in many of Brunello’s greatest vineyards. Marl, clay, and limestone intermingle across the hill, with cooler northern slopes favoring finesse and aromatic precision, while the warmer southern reaches deliver deeper fruit, savory intensity, and a firm, age-worthy backbone.

Historically, Brunello’s greatness was forged by traditionalists, most famously Biondi-Santi, who proved that Sangiovese, when treated with patience and restraint, could rival the world’s great age-worthy wines. Later icons like Soldera reinforced that philosophy, emphasizing balance, transparency, and site expression over raw power. In the modern era, some producers turned toward smaller French oak and more aggressive extraction, chasing richness and early impact. I’ve never been a fan of that approach. Even in Brunello, where the terroir can yield formidable structure, Sangiovese shows best when its savory depth is carried by a clear beam of acidity. When pushed too hard and harvested too late, Sangiovese can lose its sense of place, becoming darker and heavier, with flavors that stray far from classic Brunello. This is a grape that doesn’t need vanilla or oak spice, it already has everything it needs.

That philosophy sits squarely at the heart of La Torre, located in Sant’Angelo in Colle, one of Brunello di Montalcino’s most respected zones. Perched in the southwestern sector of the appellation at higher elevation, Sant’Angelo in Colle benefits from constant airflow, meaningful diurnal shifts, and well-drained galestro-rich soils that allow Sangiovese to ripen fully while preserving acidity. It’s a combination that naturally produces Brunello with depth, savory intensity, and, when handled with restraint—remarkable balance and longevity.

Founded in the early 1970s, with vineyards planted beginning in 1974 and the first Brunello released from the 1982 vintage, La Torre has always favored altitude, restraint, and transparency over force. Farming is meticulous and yields are naturally low, with all fruit harvested by hand. In the cellar, the approach is deliberately traditional and unrushed. Fermentations are natural and spontaneous, carried out in stainless steel without temperature regulation, allowing the wines to find their own rhythm. Extraction is gentle, pump-overs rather than punch-downs, designed to build texture and structure without sacrificing finesse. The wines then spend four full years in large, well-worn Slavonian oak casks, chosen not to flavor the wine, but to let it slowly evolve through delicate oxygen exposure. Minimal racking preserves freshness and aromatic lift. It’s a simple, time-tested formula that yields wines of real complexity and quiet authority.

The 2020 Brunello captures this approach beautifully. Aromatically, it opens with red cherry, wild strawberry, dried rose petals, wildflowers, sweet tobacco leaf, and subtle notes of Mediterranean herbs and crushed earth. On the palate, it’s seamless and precise, medium-plus in body, with perfectly ripe fruit, fine, chalk-tinged tannins, and balanced acidity that frames the richness of the wine perfectly. There’s real depth here, but never heaviness—just clarity, energy, and length. It’s drinking beautifully now with air, yet everything about its structure points to meaningful evolution over the next decade.

This is Brunello made for the table. Grill a Bistecca alla Fiorentina, the classic Tuscan porterhouse, brushed with olive oil and rosemary, and cooked hard and fast over live coals until deeply charred on the outside and rare to medium-rare within. Add roast potatoes with olive oil, rosemary, and sea salt, and perhaps a simple pasta with guanciale, black pepper, and pecorino to start. Decant the wine for about one hour, serve it in generous Bordeaux stems at 60–65°F, and open it with people you actually want to linger with.

In a category where prices continue to climb and styles can drift toward excess, La Torre remains one of the great values and one of the most consistently brilliant producers in Brunello di Montalcino. Under $100, it’s hard to think of a Brunello I’d rather drink now, cellar with confidence, or share at the table. This is classic Montalcino, honest, elegant, and built to last.