Twenty years ago last February, I was at the Benvenuto Brunello event, the annual release of the new vintage for Brunello di Montalcino and Rosso di Montalcino. It is a tasting for the Press—but with a few connections, I got a ticket. This was the debut for the 1999s—a sensational vintage and one of my personal favorites—and I was super excited to taste these releases. At the end of the two-day tasting, after having tasted all of the wines, I was reviewing my notes and the two top wines were outstanding—however one of them I had never heard of before.

Back home I began to strategize about which wines I was going to buy, but I couldn't find anyone who was carrying (or who had heard of) my mystery favorite, Sesta di Sopra. So, I wrote to them asking who their U.S. importer was so I could buy their wines. They replied that they didn’t have one, and would I like to be their importer? At the time our Italian Direct Import program was fledgling and taking on a top-flight Brunello producer seemed to stretch the boundaries. I was given a price list and quantities produced and was stunned to find they were a micro-producer—only 340 cases a year of Brunello. I was really excited! I was going back to Italy later that spring so I told them that once I visited, I would make a decision.

I couldn’t have been luckier to find such an incredible man at the end of this rainbow. Ettore Spina was an international banker for more than 40 years, but he had always wanted to make wine. He purchased the abandoned property in the late 1980s and slowly rebuilt the house and planted vineyards. When I arrived, the exceptionally gentile Ettore showed me into his “winery”—it was a big garage! Each Brunello vintage was aged in one 30hl Slavonian oak barrel, and I tasted all the other vintages. I was mostly interested in the 2002 vintage because I knew it was an extremely difficult year in Montalcino (they never say bad), and I knew if their 2002 was solid then everything else would take care of itself. I was amazed at the freshness, purity, and supple weight of the wine! The other vintages, too, were unbelievably good. I said, OK I’ll be your importer. We were their first clients and have been their biggest supporters since. Ettore is in his early 90s now, and his grandson Matteo has taken the reins. Matteo grew up in Rome, but after university and several stages in business and winemaking he's moved to the countryside. This year’s releases are stunning, give them a try and see for yourself!