When the Cinzano family arrived in 1973, most of the wine bottled in Montalcino was Brunello. A second denomination, “Vino Rosso dai Vigneti di Brunello,” was used locally to improve the image of the wine sold mostly in bulk formats. Count Alberto Marone Cinzano decided that it was just the right wine for drinking every day. He used to say: “it’s the young Sangiovese I drink at lunchtime.” In 1976, three years later, Col d’Orcia already represented more than half the production of “Rosso” in Montalcino. Thanks to Col d’Orcia’s efforts in 1983, Rosso di Montalcino became a D.O.C. wine by Decree of the Italian President of the Republic.
Rosso di Montalcino is now a classic wine, made with pure Sangiovese grapes, released one year after the harvest so as to retain all the freshness and fruitiness of a young wine and at the same time the intensity that only the Montalcino terroir is capable of delivering.