2010 08 26 - Italian Gems Siro Pacenti and Tenuta Mazzolino

Giancarlo Pacenti is one of the leaders of the younger generation of innovative Montalcinesi who take inspiration and new ideas from outside of the zone and often beyond Italian borders. His two vineyards lie in two very different areas of Montalcino: one to the northeast of the town, where the wines develop full, ripe qualities; and one to the hotter southwest area near Sant'Angelo in Colle, which produces a more powerful, minerally wine. The Rosso is considered to be one of the very best, with the fruit's inherent structure delicately enhanced by a brief passage in barriques (the 2006 vintage has just received 90 points from Parker). Since the 1995 vintage, his Brunello has repeatedly won Gambero Rosso's most prestigious Tre Bicchieri (Three Glass) award in addition to 90+ scores from all the major international publications.


Mazzolino Winery is in the heart of the Oltrepò Pavese near the 45th Parallel. It is in this part of the Po River Valley that the Braggiotti family, owners of the estate since the 1980s, has anchored its desire to produce the finest possible wines. Their 45-acre vineyard is planted in the most-appropriate varietals: Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and Bonarda find ideal microclimates in the loamy clay soil with east- and west-facing slopes. Integrated grape growing, consisting of controlled fertilization, severe pruning and permanent grass, results in low yield and optimized varietal expression. Recently, its flagship Noir won the prestigious 3 glass Gambero Rosso Award as well

Wines to be tasted

1) Mazzolino Noir 2005/6

2) Siro Pacenti Rosso 2008

3) Siro Pacenti Brunello 2005

4) Mazzolino Terraza Pinot Nero 08

5) Mazollino Camara Chardonnay 08

6) Mazollino Moscato 09

About Siro Pacenti

From the Wine Spectator's article "Brunello di Montalcino: The Cream of the Crop:


"Giancarlo Pacenti is the best winemaker in the appellation of Brunello di Montalcino. Everything is done in the best possible way and at the right time in his well-kept vineyards and the pristine small winery under his house. His Brunellos are usually a blend of different vineyards from both the south and north sides of the Montalcino hill, giving them great richness and structure as well as freshness. They are aged in French oak barrels yet show very little wood character, and their crystal clear style is one that ages extremely well. Pacenti's 1997 is still a baby, and the 2001 will be his longest-lived vintage yet." The Wine Spectator, July 31, 2007

"Giancarlo Pacenti, 37, has been a bold exponent of the modern approach to making Brunello di Montalcino since he took over his family's 50-acre estate, Siro Pacenti, in 1988. "I found that Brunello made in the traditional way just didn't have enough color and structure to meet the requirements of the international market," he says. He has been fine-tuning his viticulture and winemaking ever since, reducing yields in his vineyards and now aging the wine entirely in small French oak barrels, having abandoned the use of large Slovenian oak casks. This has given him richer, cleaner and fresher wines than his predecessors...The results of his experiments are impressive." -- The Wine Spectator

"Giancarlo Pacenti is widely considered to be one of the finest owner-winemakers in the Brunello region. Like many producers here, he owns two Brunello vineyards in the Montalcino area, totaling nearly 50 acres. Pacenti believes that his 17 acres in the cooler, northern part of the area provide aromas and elegance, whereas his 32 acres farther south give the wine its structure, power and fine tannins. 2,500 cases made." -- The Wine Spectator, December 2006

"Giancarlo Pacenti is among the small number of producers who doesn't bottle single-vineyard wines, instead he prefers to blend the juice from his holdings across the zone to make one Brunello, which he thinks yields a wine with greater balance than single-vineyard wines are capable of. Tasting his wines, the 2003 Brunello in particular, its awfully hard to disagree with this approach. Pacenti believes his long-standing collaboration with the University of Bordeaux paid huge dividends in 2003. Pacenti reported that, as expected, his oldest vineyards held up best during the scorching-hot vintage. Between the small amount of juice the grapes contained and the burnt fruit that was tossed at the sorting table, yields were down about 35%. Fermentation was done at lower temperatures than normal in order to avoid extracting astringent tannins. Pacenti also reduced the amount of new oak to 50-60% from the more typical 70-80%, using the higher percentages of new oak for his oldest vineyards. The Brunello was aged in a cellar kept to a lower temperature than normal in order to slow down the wine's development. As outstanding as the Brunello is, readers should not ignore the 2006 Rosso." -- The Wine Advocate, May 2, 2008

Giancarlo Pacenti is one of the leaders of the younger generation of innovative Montalcinesi who take inspiration and new ideas from outside of the zone and often beyond Italian borders. His two vineyards lie in two very different areas of Montalcino: one to the northeast of the town, where the wines develop full, ripe qualities; and one to the hotter southwest area near Sant'Angelo in Colle, which produces a more powerful, minerally wine. The Rosso is considered to be one of the very best, with the fruit's inherent structure delicately enhanced by a brief passage in barriques (the 2006 vintage has just received 90 points from Parker). Since the 1995 vintage, his Brunello has repeatedly won Gambero Rosso's most prestigious Tre Bicchieri (Three Glass) award in addition to 90+ scores from all the major international publications.