Pieve Santa Restituta (Gaja), Brunello di Montalcino, Rennina 2021

The 2021 Brunello di Montalcino Rennina boasts a dark ruby hue and a bouquet of crushed blackberries, dusty sage, talc, nuances of mint and orange zest. It's racy with bright acidity and crisp wild berry fruits that slowly saturate the senses, further enhanced by an array of grippy tannins. This Brunello finishes with excellent length and heroic structure, leaving a cascade of inner florals and subtle licorice twang.

The Pieve Santa Restituta 2021 Brunello di Montalcino Rennina delivers power and a full-bodied style shaped by a warm vintage and carefully calibrated oak aging under the Gaja family’s expert hand. It shows notable volume and texture, with an open-knit feel that reveals black fruit and spice on the close. Tightly wound at present, it requires more time to age and fully integrate its elements. This is a production of 14,400 bottles.

This vintage aside, Rennina is usually seen as the more finessed sibling to the more powerful Sugarille. Rennina represents a blend of fruit from three sites: Pian dei Cerri, with red sandy soils for tannic structure; Castagno Vecchio, with deep, lose soils for refined perfumes; and Santo Pietro, with clay and fossil-rich soils that add mineral complexity.