Pian dell'Orino

Pian dell'Orino sits at Loc. Piandellorino, 189, 53024 Montalcino. The Pian dell'Orino and Cancello Rosso vineyards were both planted in 1997, and technical sheets for the Brunello di Montalcino Vigneti del Versante begin with the 1997 vintage. The estate's named contacts are Caroline Pobitzer and Jan Hendrik Erbach.

• Address: Loc. Piandellorino, 189, 53024 Montalcino
• Pian dell'Orino and Cancello Rosso vineyards: year of planting 1997
• Vigneti del Versante technical sheets start with the 1997 vintage
• Named contacts: Caroline Pobitzer and Jan Hendrik Erbach

Jan Hendrik Erbach is in charge of production, helped by Johanna and Riccardo in all stages of the work in the vineyard, the garden and the cellar. Caroline Pobitzer handles the administration of Pian dell'Orino and, together with Susanne, looks after relationships with clients and partners.

• Jan Hendrik Erbach: in charge of production
• Johanna and Riccardo: vineyard, garden and cellar work alongside Jan
• Caroline Pobitzer: administration, with Susanne on client and partner relationships

The estate covers 11.5 ha: 5.8 ha of vineyard, 1.5 ha of olive trees, 0.5 ha of garden and over 3.5 ha of forest. Sangiovese is the only variety cultivated, using 22 clones, in seven vineyards: Pian dell'Orino, Pian Bassolino, Scopeta, Cancello Rosso, Del Moro and, since March 2020, Pian dell'Oro and Olivetello. The Pian dell'Orino vineyard lies at 500 m with a south/south-west exposure, around the estate's old farmhouse, home and cellar. Pian Bassolino, 3.0 ha, lies a few kilometres from the estate towards Castelnuovo dell'Abate at 340 to 390 m; it was formerly a field and pasture for sheep and goats and faces Mount Amiata. Scopeta, 0.7 ha planted in 2005 at 270 m facing south-east, lies between Castelnuovo dell'Abate and Sant'Angelo in Colle and is usually where the harvest starts. Cancello Rosso, 0.7 ha at 340 m, sits next to an old travertine quarry, with terra rossa covering about half its surface. Del Moro, 0.3 ha at 470 m facing north-east, was replanted in 2011 as an experimental vineyard of many Sangiovese clones and is the main source of the estate's massal selections.

• Seven vineyards, all Sangiovese, 22 clones
• Pian Bassolino: 3.0 ha, 340 to 390 m, towards Castelnuovo dell'Abate
• Scopeta: 0.7 ha, planted 2005, 270 m, south-east
• Cancello Rosso: 0.7 ha, 340 m, about half terra rossa
• Del Moro: 0.3 ha, 470 m, experimental vineyard replanted 2011

Scions selected from seven clones in the Del Moro vineyard were grown in a nursery for a year, and in spring 2020 they were used to plant two new vineyards of about 0.25 ha each. For Pian dell'Oro (0.225 ha), the estate gave up artificial vine supports and drew on the married vine concept of Etruscan tradition, training the vines on field maple, plum tree, whitebeam and mulberry. Olivetello (0.25 ha) uses the alberello training method.

• Planted spring 2020 from a massal selection of seven Del Moro clones
• Pian dell'Oro: 0.225 ha, vines trained on living field maple, plum, whitebeam and mulberry
• Olivetello: 0.25 ha, alberello training

The main biodynamic preparations are horn manure (500) and horn silica (501), and new compost is made each year from grape stems, pomace, Biochar and cow manure. Near the trunks, hoeing is combined with biodynamic treatments, and the work is guided by observing the energy flows conveyed primarily by lunar phases. The estate holds ICEA and AgriBio certifications. All work on the vines, including the harvest, is done by hand; bunches are thinned before flowering to leave 4 to 6 per vine, and maximum output is one bottle per vine. Beehives are placed in all vineyards.

• Biodynamic preparations including horn manure (500) and horn silica (501)
• ICEA and AgriBio certifications
• Maximum output of one bottle per vine; 4 to 6 bunches left per vine
• All vine work and harvest by hand

Grapes are hand-picked into 15-kilo crates, selected first by the destemmer, then by hand on a sorting table, and finally by a large optical selector, under a CO2 cover to prevent oxidation. Fermentation is spontaneous, using indigenous yeasts. For Brunello, fermentation in oak vats typically starts within 3 days of harvest, skin maceration lasts 4 to 10 weeks, and malolactic fermentation follows in the vat. The wine then ages 36 to 55 months in 12.5 to 50 hL oak barrels and is bottled without filtration; Vigneti del Versante rests at least one year in bottle before release and Bassolino di Sopra two years. Rosso di Montalcino goes into 25 to 30 hL barrels, ages about 24 to 28 months and rests another 6 months in the cellar. Piandorino ferments at usually no more than 28°C with about 7 to 10 days of skin contact, finishes in 12 to 25 hL oak barrels, is bottled after about 16 to 20 months and rests 6 months in bottle. The cellar, next to the farmhouse, is built of clay, wood, lime and stones from the vineyards, and its rounded shape recalls a cradle.

• Destemmer, sorting table and optical selector; CO2 cover throughout
• Spontaneous fermentation with indigenous yeasts
• Brunello: 4 to 10 weeks maceration, 36 to 55 months in 12.5 to 50 hL oak, unfiltered
• Bottle ageing before release: Vigneti del Versante at least one year, Bassolino di Sopra two years

Depending on the vintage the estate bottles between two and five wines, 17,000 bottles in total: Brunello di Montalcino Bassolino di Sopra DOCG (1,500 to 3,000 bottles), Brunello di Montalcino Vigneti del Versante DOCG (1,700 to 8,000), Rosso di Montalcino Bassolino DOC (3,000), Rosso di Montalcino DOC (5,000 to 7,500) and Piandorino IGT (1,500 to 4,000). Bassolino di Sopra is made only in certain vintages from a section of the highest plot in Pian Bassolino, at yields never above 30 hL/ha; the estate's vineyards page lists 2004 Riserva, 2007, 2010, 2012, 2015 and 2016 as the vintages produced so far, while the wine's own page also has technical sheets for 2006 and 2019. Vigneti del Versante typically comes from Cancello Rosso and the lower part of Pian Bassolino. The Rosso di Montalcino draws on the Scopeta, Pian dell'Orino and Pian Bassolino vineyards, while the Rosso Bassolino comes only from a small area of Pian Bassolino in certain vintages. Piandorino, a Toscana IGT, comes from the youngest vineyards, the experimental vineyard and the cooler exposures. Bassolino di Sopra, Vigneti del Versante, Rosso di Montalcino and Piandorino are each 100% Sangiovese.

• Brunello di Montalcino DOCG: Bassolino di Sopra and Vigneti del Versante
• Rosso di Montalcino DOC and Rosso di Montalcino Bassolino DOC
• Piandorino, Toscana IGT
• Bassolino di Sopra yields never above 30 hL/ha

The estate describes Bassolino di Sopra as less powerful and impetuous than Vigneti del Versante, a more subtle and precise wine recognised for its finesse and elegance, and the challenge of Vigneti del Versante as attaining a complex harmony from its many facets. Its Rosso di Montalcino offers fruit and freshness that make room for depth as the wine evolves, and Piandorino is more direct and assertive, straightforward and lively, in the estate's words. Monty Waldin, writing in Decanter in 2015, named Pian dell'Orino among the producers whose Brunellos have a "sense of place" that is so definite, partly thanks to organic or biodynamic growing.

• Bassolino di Sopra, in the estate's words: subtle, precise, finesse and elegance
• Rosso di Montalcino, in the estate's words: fruit and freshness giving way to depth
• Piandorino, in the estate's words: direct, assertive, lively
• Monty Waldin (Decanter, 2015): a definite "sense of place"

Monica Larner, Italy correspondent for Robert Parker's The Wine Advocate, gave 100 points to the 2010 Pian dell'Orino Brunello di Montalcino Bassolino di Sopra and 97 points to the 2010 Vigneti del Versante.

• 2010 Bassolino di Sopra: 100 points, Monica Larner, The Wine Advocate
• 2010 Vigneti del Versante: 97 points in the same report

Primary sources (producer's own site): https://www.piandellorino.it/en/surface/pian-dellorino.html, https://www.piandellorino.it/en/surface/our-idea.html, https://www.piandellorino.it/en/deep/the-vineyards.html, https://www.piandellorino.it/en/deep/biodynamics.html, https://www.piandellorino.it/en/deep/work-and-artisanship.html, https://www.piandellorino.it/en/wines.html, https://www.piandellorino.it/en/contacts.html, https://www.piandellorino.it/en/wines/brunello-di-montalcino-bassolino-di-sopra-.html, https://www.piandellorino.it/en/wines/brunello-di-montalcino-vigneti-del-versante-.html, https://www.piandellorino.it/en/wines/rosso-di-montalcino.html, https://www.piandellorino.it/en/wines/piandorino.html. Secondary sources: Consorzio del vino Brunello di Montalcino news (5 March 2016), https://www.consorziobrunellodimontalcino.it/news/?p=9940&lang=it; Decanter, Monty Waldin (August 12, 2015), https://www.decanter.com/features/brunello-the-many-crus-of-montalcino-2-245583/. Last verified 2026-10-12. Where the producer's site and a secondary source disagree, the producer's site governs.