Montalcino

Montalcino is situated in the north-west territory of the Amiata Mountain, at the end of the Val d'Orcia, on the border with the province of Grosseto; the town rises on an enchanting hill. The name of the city derives from the Latin words mons (mountain) and ilex (holm oak). The communal territory has been inhabited since the Bronze Age and has been center of an Etruscan settlement of which the ruins of fortress in the nearby locality Civitella can be seen. The most ancient document that cites Montalcino is dated 715 A.D. The Abbey of Sant'Antimo, wonderful architectonic complex that today is 9 Km away from Montalcino, according to legend, rose on an ancient chapel erected by Charlemagne in 781, even if the construction is dated back to the years between 1000 and 1118. The Abbey is considered an extraordinary example of Lombardic-French Romanesque architecture, made of onyx and alabaster. But Montalcino is famous above all for Brunello, a DOCG red wine, that can be considered, together with Barolo, the Italian red wine with best longevity. Brunello di Montalcino must undergo to a period of refinement, of at least two years, in oak casks, and at least four months in bottles; at the end of this process we will have an optimal wine, with an intense ruby red color and a tannic, robust, round and persistent taste, that magnificently combines together to red meat and game.

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