Stella di Campalto

Podere San Guiseppe, an estate in the South-Eastern corner of Montalcino was a sad place until the family of Stella Di Campalto purchased it in 1992. At once, Stella started to ressucitate the 5 ha of vines, which had been abandoned since the war. She turned her focus to organic farming in 1996, which inevitably evolved to biodynamics in the early 2000's. The jewels in the crown of the estate are the top Brunello vineyards of Vigna al Lecchio, Vigna Curva, Vigna al Sasso, Vigna Bassa and Vigna All’ulivo, all of which sit between nine hundred and 1,000 feet above sea level and have south facing exposures (with the exception of Vigna All'ulivo which faces West). In the cellar the wine is treated as delicately as possible to allow nature to take center stage. The cellar has three levels to allow the wine to travel by gravity rather than racking. The wine rests between 18-22 months in barrique before being bottled by hand. Often Stella allows the wine to rest in the bottle before releasing it, which is a fortunate position for the wine to be in, as it allows it to reach its full potential.