Ferrero
Brunello di Montalcino from Podere Pascena on the warm southern slopes, made by a Swiss-born winemaker who learned the hills at Banfi and Col d'Orcia — about 450 cases a year.
Ferrero is at Podere Pascena, roughly halfway between two villages on the southern side of Montalcino, and has become a household name at K&L over the past decade. Pablo Härri trained as an enologist in Switzerland, sent his résumé across Europe and got one reply — from Banfi, where he spent twelve years as second in command before a spell at Col d'Orcia. He had bought the Pascena property while at Banfi and from around 2010 has made wine there full time.
The label is named for his wife, Claudia Ferrero. Production is small, around 450 cases of Brunello, from deep soils in a warm, dry corner of the appellation: the wines are plush and generous, with the mint-and-black-cherry lift the critics keep noticing, and they drink well young for Brunello.