LE LECCIAIA
Located southeast of Montalcino between Biondi Santi and the Fattoria dei Barbi, two of the oldest producers in the region, Le Lecciaia is owned by Mauro Pacini, whose main business is flowers, dried and cut for export. He bought the vineyard in the early 80s and the wines have an intriguing flavor that has become more pronounced as the years have gone by. Like the other two aforementioned producers, the wines have pronounced flavors of earth and leather, with a stony, gravelly character, rather than the plump sweet fruit you get in the south. Pacini has a single vineyard Manapetra Brunello with richness and depth that is made from fruit on the slope right above a small creek nearby. At 12500 cases a year, Le Lecciaia is a big estate, but aging is still done in traditional Slavonian oak botte.