Podere Brizio has just 11.5 hectares of vines. That wonderfully small scale becomes even more interesting in an excellent Montalcino vintage like 2021. This is 100% estate Sangiovese, and Wine Spectator gave it 95 points with a drinking window stretching nearly two decades. We see $56 Brunello from a tiny estate in a terrific vintage, which is reason enough to start clearing some cellar space. Those few hectares occupy a distinctive corner of Montalcino. The vineyards sit on the southwest side of the appellation at 330–350 meters, looking toward the Maremma and the Tyrrhenian Sea. Beneath the vines are marine-origin sandy and silty soils layered over marl and limestone. It’s a compact piece of Montalcino with a remarkably specific sense of place. Podere Brizio doesn’t rush things once the grapes leave the vineyard. Native yeasts carry out a spontaneous fermentation before the wine settles into large, untoasted French oak casks for 38 months, followed by further aging in bottle. In 2021, that patience delivered both generosity and serious structure. Wine Spectator found bright black cherry and blackberry alongside wild rosemary and juniper, with dense tannins built to carry the wine all the way through 2045.