The Wine Buff Gorey - La Benducce Tuscany

The Tornesi family has owned their estate, known as Le Benducce, since 1750: long before Brunello di Montalcino became known as a wine and even before Italy became a unified nation.

The winery is still family operated, with Maurizio Tornesi at the helm of both viticulture and winemaking. He is a true Tuscan farmer- as authentic as they come. Maurizio knows the land of Montalcino and the Sangiovese Grosso grape like the back of his hand.

Brunellos are oak aged for a minimum of 2 years and are some of the most expensive wines in Italy. The Le Benducce from Tornesi (we call it the baby brunello) is aged in steel vats so is unable to be proclaimed a DOCG Montalcino wine, but still uses 100% Sangiovese and is therefore classified as an IGT wine. He only makes 4000 bottles of this every year.

The wine is ruby red with a brick red tint, an earthy nose, with raspberry and a hint of leather, in the mouth its tart with black fruit and raisin and a long acidic finish.

Food match: Italian meatballs, pizza, grilled meat, fried chicken in breadcrumbs and a winner with mushroom risotto.