In 1987, Gianni Brunelli returned in Montalcino and succeeded in crowning the dream of his family, buying back the old property of his father, “Le Chiuse di Sotto”. In the memory of his father, a small plot of the vines planted by him in 1947 is still conserved. “Le Chiuse di Sotto” is located in the homonymous location northeast of Montalcino. The farm consists of a single body of 5 hectares, of which 2 are cultivated with Sangiovese while the remaining two and a half hectares are cultivated with olive groves, from which they produce their extra virgin olive oil.

In the mid 90’s Gianni and Laura, bought Podernovone. Located on the south-eastern slopes of Montalcino, it consists of a 4.5-hectare property planted with Sangiovese and some Merlot since 1997, the former for Brunello and Rosso, the latter for the Amor Costante. Podernovone is made up of four vineyards, Olmo, Oliva, Quercia and Gelso. All technical and administrative aspects of the winery are managed by Laura Brunelli and her team of family and staff.

From healthy, well ripened, balanced grapes, harvested in the right moment and carefully vinified, it is only natural to get good wines with balanced structure and generous aromas. It’s the meticulous work in the vineyard which offers absolute quality. Each working phase must be technically analysed and appropriately adapted to the needs of our vines, climate and microclimate. These are our values as vignerons which Laura and her team apply to their work every day.

In 2015, and after great thought and work, Laura finalised and inaugurated the new winery at Podernovone. Located at the south-eastern slopes of Montalcino and surrounded by four and a half hectares of vines, it is designed to be minimal and practical, supporting a low energy impact and natural process, trying to minimise its carbon footprint with solar energy and the use of gravity. The building is made with stone and the traditional Etruscan method of “Cocciopesto” allowing it to breathe. A secret corridor is designed to surround the building providing thermic isolation and keeping a stable temperature throughout the four seasons. Podernovone is fully sustainable combining technology and tradition.

All grapes, which will arrive in the winery come from estate-owned vineyards and have the highest quality. Manually collected, following a careful on site selection and a final visual inspection on the sorting table. The yields will be very low, so the quality is guaranteed. Vinification takes place separately for each plot in stainless steel tanks. There are no specific protocols, but it will always depend on the needs of each vintage. The only rules are cleanliness and the consistent temperature at 26-27°C. Extraction is prolonged but delicate, making sure to gain overt aromas, rich color and the most elegant tannins. After the malolactic fermentation, the wines from each plot will age separately in their own oak cask cellar in vessels of Slavonian oak, from 5 to 30hl. The slow and prolonged aging in the oak cask cellar allows the wine to clarify naturally without the need of external intervention, thus requiring only a very light filtration before bottling.

The artwork on the label of her wines is called “Elvira with a hat” created by Harvard economist and painter Richard M. Goodwin. Richard was a frequent guest at the Osteria Le Logge and a dear friend of Gianni and Laura. Many times he observed and admired Elvira, Gianni’s mother, who at that time was responsible for the kitchen of the Logge and as a Muse inspired her portrait. Even today, “Elvira with a hat” is hanging at the entrance of the Osteria Le Logge.

Laura’s charisma, warm-heartedness and energy is magnetizing. We met in 2013 at her home in Montalcino as she had recently begun working with a supplier that we were partnered with in the southeastern USA. The wines were indeed stellar, but Laura has always been the star. We quickly grew together as friends and obviously as business partners. Laura has had several successful market visits with Sour Grapes in the southeastern USA and is one of the reasons we continue to work in this industry. After many years of working together behind the scenes, both Laura and her wines return home to our family of producers in 2023. Her advice in 2013 as we started to import Italian wines was that we needed to learn Italian. La pazienza è la chiave…