Making Sangiovese is ‘like a father guiding a son’ for Piccini 1882
Though the winery’s production now spans Italy, Sangiovese remains central to family company Piccini 1882. Its latest, award-winning vintage of Brunello di Montalcino is demonstrating the rewards of that focus.
“For us, Sangiovese is fundamental,” explains Mario Piccini. “Our roots are in Tuscany, where we work with this grape’s extraordinary versatility every single day.”
It is not an unusual sentiment in Italy’s wine industry, paying tribute to the country’s most famous grape and its primary centre of fine wine. However, it is notable considering the scale of Piccini 1882, the family company that Mario Piccini heads as CEO.
Piccini 1882 has, since its founding nearly 150 years ago, become an important global presence for Italian wines. From its Tuscan origins, it has grown immensely, with tens of millions of bottles produced annually. Its production now spans the length of Italy, from the Veneto to Sicily. Meanwhile, even in Tuscany, its remit has expanded: Piccini 1882 now uses the likes of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Vermentino and Trebbiano in its Tuscan wines.
Yet Sangiovese remains central to its mission. That is, in part, due to that “extraordinary versatility” but it also recognises a deep, intertwined history of the family and the grape variety. Indeed, Mario Piccini – part of the fourth generation to run the company – views its Sangiovese as part of a family story.
“As a winemaker, you’re like a father guiding a son,” he comments. “He may be drawn to fun and sport, showing strength and exuberance right away, or he may commit to a more academic path, one that takes time, patience, and dedication.
“It’s the parent’s job to offer direction, to help shape the journey. In the same way, the winemaker can choose to highlight Sangiovese’s vibrant energy or let its elegance emerge slowly in the bottle over time.”
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The next iteration
Much like a family, Piccini 1882’s story is peppered both with great leaps forward – acquiring a new estate, for instance – and the smaller steps that nonetheless build an impressive history. The next of those small steps is fast approaching.
The latest Piccini Brunello di Montalcino is releasing soon, with this 2020 vintage available in Majestic stores in the UK in October.
It is the product of a warm and dry growing season, which gave the wine weight and intensity, but the hillside vineyards ensured that the quintessential acidity and tannin of Montalcino are not lost. The result is, according to the winery, “a generous yet sophisticated wine, approachable now, but built to age gracefully”.
Although UK consumers cannot buy a bottle just yet, it has already won admirers. The wine was tasted blinded at The Global Sangiovese Masters 2025, and secured a Gold medal.
Below, Patricia Stefanowicz MW gives her note on the award-winning wine.
Piccini 1882 Brunello di Montalcino 2020
- Producer: Piccini 1882
- Region: Tuscany
- Country: Italy
- Grape variety: 100% Sangiovese
- ABV: 14%
- Approx. retail price: £38
The vineyards for this Brunello sit at 350 metres above sea level, rooting into limestone-rich soils with a balanced mix of clay and schist. A combination of altitude and sea breezes from the Maremma ensure slow, even ripening, while 30 months of storage (20 in large oak casks, four in barriques and a further six in the bottle) ensure complex evolution of flavour. Medium garnet in colour, with aromas of strawberry, cranberry and pomegranate, accented by toasty wood, the wine is delicately perfumed by orange zest and crushed red roses too. The mid-weight palate has racy acidity and grainy-textured tannins, intense and well-defined, leading to a lingering finish. Perfect with beef roulades with pecorino.
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