Villa al Cortile is a 12-ha boutique winery based in Tuscany, Italy focused on the production of Brunello di Montalcino wines, which are often regarded as the highest expression of Sangiovese grapes.
Brief History
This estate is part of the Tenute Piccini, a Tuscan family that has been committed to the wine industry for four generations and which is today one of the most distinctive, dynamic and innovative family-owned Italian wine companies.
Everything started back in the 1882 when Angiolo Piccini bought 7ha vineyard in the Chianti Classico area. The historic Piccini winery was levelled to the ground during the second World War, but this did not stop the successful adventure.
Nowadays Mario Piccini runs the Estate with a principle inherited from the same Angiolo Piccini, “It is not how much you do, but how much passion you put in doing it.” This idea is now a cornerstone of the Tenute Piccini philosophy.
Drove by his passion for terroir driven wines, Mario Piccini decided to invest in this boutique winery to craft high quality wines. Elegance rather than power, big barrel ‘botti’ rather small barriques, to preserve the typical Sangiovese expression in relation to its territory of origin.
Villa Al Cortile Wines
The Estate wines win accolades and awards from international wine organizations.
Villa al Cortile Brunello di Montalcino 2012 in particular, was awarded Platinum Medal Best Brunello – 95 points, by Decanter World Wine Awards.
Browse Below Wine Reviews of Villa Al Cortile & Other Piccini Wines:
Vineyards
The 12 hectares (30 acres) of Villa al Cortile estate are split between 8 ha located in Montosoli, the North part of Montalcino and 4 ha located in Lavacchio, on the South West slopes of Montalcino.
Thanks to a North-East exposure, cooler microclimate, and the calcareous-clay soil Montosoli vineyards allow the estate to produce elegant wines with higher acidity, a key element to obtain ‘traditional method’ Brunello di Montalcino wines with an incredible ageing potential.
The resulting wines are carefully blended with the vineyards located in the south of Montalcino, a sandier soil with a more Mediterranean climate that speeds up the ripening process resulting in fuller-bodied, intensely fruity, less acidic wines.
Winemaking Facts
The grapes are harvested, fermented and aged separately, to monitor the different evolution over the years.
Brunello and Brunello di Montalcino Riserva wines are aged in big, 20 and 50 hl, oak barrels for 2-3 years.
These wooden casks allow the natural microxigenation process to soften the tannins and stabilize the color while imparting very little oak flavor.
The goal is to get harmonious wines, respecting the terroir-grape relationship, avoiding an overly extracted style.
The vineyards were converted to organic practices three years ago, and all Villa al Cortile wines will soon be labeled as organic wine.
Villa al Cortile on Youtube: Video
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Find out more about Piccini and their wines at Tenutepiccini.it
The information on this page was provided py Piccini wines exclusively for Social Vignerons.