The Mastrojanni Estate is situated in the south-east corner of the Montalcino region, set apart up a dirt road from the village of Castelnuovo dell'Abate. The wines are traditional and terroir-driven and the winery eschews the use of barriques as one might expect from such traditionalists. Having been purchased by coffee giants Illy, the estate has enjoyed even greater success in recent years and is now rated in the top 10 in the region.
We've worked closely with this estate for years and it's been a pleasure to see them go from strength to strength, regularly numbering among the top estates of the vintage with heaps of critical praise lavished on by the likes of James Suckling, Eric Guido (Vinous) & Monica Larner (Wine Advocate).
There is plenty of ripe fruit in the bottle but the wines also have a savoury sophistication and retain a freshness and vivacity in later years after their more initially-exuberant peers have faded. Indeed, Nicolas Belfrage states that the single vineyard Riserva, Schiena d'Asino is 'at its peak, to die for...the 1990 was one of the finest Brunellos I have ever tasted'.
The Wine
Stylistically the estate represents a rounder, more traditional style of Brunello, with ripe, generous tannins and deep concentrated fruit. The vines are in their golden age, reaching their "prime production" according to Monica Larner and revealing hauntingly profound expressions of Sangiovese.
The wonderful estate Brunello is always a favourite, whilst those seeking the very best from Montalcino should seek out the more illustrious single vineyard Vigna Loreto, alongside the incredible Vigna Schiena d'Asino. These are great wines, and in our experience, with four to five years bottle age offer some of the most satisfying drinking from the region.
