Piancornello di Monaci Claudio (Podere del Visciolo) is a certified organic estate winery in Località Piancornello in Montalcino in Tuscany, Italy. Its main wines are Rosso di Montalcino DOC and Brunello di Montalcino DOCG. 

Owner: Claudio Monaci and his wife Silvia. Claudio Monaci is the son of Silvana Pieri and brother to Clara Monaci of Corte dei Venti (of which more below). Zefiro Pieri bought Piancornello in 1950. It consisted of a rural house dating to the 1700s, surrounded by land. Zefiro started to plant the first Brunello vineyards. In 1990 Zefiro’s son Alessandro Pieri (Claudio’s Monaci’s grandfather) divided his estate among his three children. Alessandro Pieri’s first daughter Agostina Pieri created her own eponymous estate. His second daughter, Silvana (married to Alfeo), created Piancornello di Pieri Silvana. His third daughter, Graziella Pieri, married Sirò Pacenti and so her vines were amalgamated into the Sirò Pacenti estate. In 2011 Silvana Pieri’s Piancornello estate was itself sub-divided into two: Piancornello di Monaci Claudio (this part) and Corte dei Venti di Clara Monaci.

Staff: Maurizio Castelli consults.

Vineyards, wine production: 10ha producing 50,000 bottles (Gambero Rosso: 2015, p.620). 4ha of Brunello di Montalcino, 3ha of Rosso di Montalcino and 3ha of Sant’Antimo. 1ha Ciliegiolo. Old vines from the 1970s are 3,500 vines per hectare. Low production. Spurred cordon.

Terroir: Piancornello is located in the Sesta area of Montalcino, between Sant’ Angelo in Colle and Castelnuovo dell’Abate. The estate’s 10 hectares of vines are concentrated on a hill of volcanic origin at an altitude of 250 metres above sea level. The plateau faces Monte Amiata on the Orcia river and the Asso stream. The steep slopes, rich in stones and rocks, drain freely. The estate as a whole covers a surface of around 20 hectares in an area characterised by a Mediterranean microclimate (picking here is earlier than most other parts of Montalcino) and steep hills rich in rocks and stones. The Orcia River flows along the southern border of the estate, towards the sea, which is approximately 45 km away. Maurizio Castelli told me on Sunday 28th Sept 2014 the terroir here was a plateau of “argilla ferrosi calcarei”, or iron-rich calcareous clay, alluvial, a young clay.

Organic certification: 2015 First vintage with full organic certification.

Winemaking: A new winery was built opposite the old one. Temperature controlled concrete tanks for fermentation. Botti grandi and barrels for ageing.

Red wines

Per Emma, Toscana Rosso IGT: Mainly Ciliegiolo.

Rosso di Montalcino DOC: 2011 10,000 bottles. Nice plum, red fruit, crisp and clean, well made (Anteprima 2013).

Brunello di Montalcino DOCG: Ripe, low acidity, high alcohol. | 2000 Thick ripe fruit (Anteprima 2005). | 2008 11,000 bottles. Clear, good weight, ripe fruit (Anteprima 2013). | 2009 149,000 bottles. Sweet, baked, jammy, some fade at end (Anteprima 2014).

Brunello di Montalcino DOCG Riserva: 2006 36 months in oak. | 2008 Riserva. 15%. L.02/2013. Mid ruby garnet. Open nose with some confection. Bit simple and fluffy with green tinges too. OK but dull, even perhaps a bit metallic–not bad but not that interesting at the Consorzio Tues 27th May 2014 with Ian d’Agata and others.

Contact

Piancornello

Loc. Piancornello

Fraz. Castelnuovo dell’Abate

53024 Montalcino (SI), Italy

Tel+39 0557.844105 | Website: See here.