Le Ragnaie

The Le Ragnaie estate was established in 1991 in the commune of Montalcino, Province of Siena, but its modern identity begins in 2002 when Riccardo and Jennifer Campinoti purchased the property and set about reshaping its direction. The couple recognised the exceptional potential of high-altitude sites within the Brunello appellation and focused early investment on understanding how dramatically elevation affects Sangiovese character at their holdings. Organic farming commenced in 2005, establishing a guiding philosophy of minimal intervention in both vineyard and cellar. Their decision to produce multiple single-vineyard Brunello cuvees, each vinified identically, placed them among the early champions of a Burgundy-inspired terroir-mapping approach within Montalcino.

• Estate founded 1991; Campinoti family acquired it in 2002 and redirected focus toward high-altitude terroir expression
• Organic farming commenced 2005, restricted to copper and sulfur with no synthetic fertilizers
• Recognised as a pioneer in single-vineyard designated Brunello production within the denomination
• High-elevation viticultural focus has drawn contemporary attention as a climate-change adaptation strategy

Riccardo Campinoti serves as both owner and hands-on winemaker, confirmed active in that dual role as of late 2025, with Jennifer Campinoti as co-owner and partner in the estate's direction. Theirs is a first-generation story of an independently acquired estate built from the ground up into a critically acclaimed address, without the inherited infrastructure or name recognition that older Montalcino families enjoy. The estate offers agriturismo accommodation for visitors, reflecting a commitment to welcoming guests into the world of Le Ragnaie directly. In February 2026 Le Ragnaie participated in Benvenuto Brunello events in New York alongside 46 other Montalcino producers, presenting the 2021 Brunello, 2020 Riserva, and 2024 Rosso releases to an international audience.

• Riccardo Campinoti is owner and winemaker; Jennifer Campinoti is co-owner; both remain actively involved
• First generation of family ownership, having acquired rather than inherited the estate
• Agriturismo facility at the winery is open to visitors
• Represented at Benvenuto Brunello New York in February 2026 alongside 46 Montalcino producers

Le Ragnaie's 23 vineyard hectares are spread across several distinct sites that collectively span an extraordinary elevation range of 200 to 600 metres, the broadest vertical spread and highest ceiling in the Brunello appellation. The estate's home vineyard around the winery sits between 530 and 600 metres in central Montalcino, with vines ranging from 5 to 40 years old, while Vigna Vecchia reaches 600 metres with old vines planted in 1968. At the other extreme, La Cava in Castelnuovo dell'Abate sits at just 200 to 250 metres, capturing the warmth of the southeast sector. Petroso, also below the town of Montalcino at 380 metres, covers approximately one hectare and represents one of the denomination's oldest winemaking zones. The Montosoli parcel of 1.6 hectares north of Montalcino, acquired in 2015 at 300 metres, adds the mineral, cooler character typical of that prized north-facing subzone.

• Le Ragnaie home vineyard: 530 to 600m, central Montalcino, vines 5 to 40 years old
• Vigna Vecchia: 600m elevation, old vines planted 1968, highest elevation plot in the estate
• Montosoli (Casanovia): 300m, north Montalcino, 1.6 hectares acquired 2015
• La Cava and Fornace: Castelnuovo dell'Abate, southeast sector, 200 to 250m, warmer microclimate

Le Ragnaie's winemaking protocol is deliberately traditional and deliberately consistent across all labels. Fermentation takes place in concrete vessels using only indigenous yeasts, preserving the native microbial signature of each vineyard. Macerations are extended, running between 25 and 90 days depending on vintage conditions, to achieve structure through gentle extraction rather than forced concentration. All Brunello wines are then aged 36 to 48 months in large neutral Slavonian oak botti, ensuring the oak never intrudes on Sangiovese's natural aromatics, and every wine is bottled without filtration. The key philosophical point is that the entry-level Brunello, the single-vineyard Vigna Vecchia, Petroso, and Montosoli cuvees are all produced using the same process; only the source vineyard changes, making Le Ragnaie a genuine terroir laboratory in Burgundian spirit.

• Concrete fermentation with indigenous yeasts; macerations of 25 to 90 days
• Aging 36 to 48 months in large neutral Slavonian oak botti; no new small oak used
• All wines bottled unfiltered
• All Brunello cuvees vinified identically regardless of vineyard designation, isolating terroir as the sole variable

Le Ragnaie matters for several converging reasons that make it worth studying both as a wine and as a case study in modern Montalcino. The estate has demonstrated that the highest elevations of the Brunello appellation, sites above 500 metres that were once considered marginal or challenging, deliver wines of genuine distinction characterised by cool-climate aromatic precision, slower ripening, and naturally lower alcohol. That argument has gained urgency as climate change pushes producers across Tuscany to reconsider altitude as a tool. Simultaneously, the estate's Burgundy-influenced single-vineyard approach has helped shift the conversation within Montalcino toward site specificity at a time when the denomination is still working through debates about crus and geographic mentions on labels. Consistent critical scores of 93 to 95 points across multiple vintages and multiple reviewers confirm that the quality is real, not stylistic novelty.

• Among the first Montalcino producers to systematically map multiple single-vineyard Brunello expressions using identical winemaking
• High-altitude focus (up to 600m) positions Le Ragnaie as a model for climate-change adaptation in Tuscany
• Consistent 93 to 95 point scores from Wine Advocate, Wine Spectator, and Jeb Dunnuck across 2018 to 2021 vintages
• Certified organic since 2005; demonstrates that biologically farmed Sangiovese in Montalcino can achieve top critical recognition