Tenuta Buon Tempo, (Siena) Tuscany, Italy

Castelnuovo dell’Abate- the ‘Illinois Avenue’ of Montalcino; an area with a unique vocation for wine growing primarily due to its protection from the cold westerly winds by the extinct Amiata volcano. Swede Per Landin and his partner, ex-pat Janet Lansill, own and operate the property. However, day-to-day occurrences are overseen by Alberto Machetti and Janet’s son Filippo Bellini.

The Buon Tempo estate covers 28 hectares, of which 14 are vineyards. Since its advent, the new property has strongly believed in sustainable agriculture. It is careful to preserve its precious soils, the surrounding environment, and the health of workers, consumers, and visitors. After a few years of testing, by following the prescription of organic agriculture, they saw excellent results in the vineyard; thus, the certification process to convert 100% of their vineyards and olive groves started in 2018.

The vineyards are mainly located all around the villa and the modern cellar at an average altitude of 350 m / asl, with south-east exposure, except for a plot of 2 hectares on the north side on the Montosoli hill acquired in 2018 to produce a second Brunello cru from a sub-area traditionally of the highest level. The main composition of the soils is sandstone, with a rich presence of skeletons and significant variability even in the short range in Castelnuovo. Instead, it is mainly clayey and poor in skeleton in Montosoli. The only grape variety present is Sangiovese Grosso, which is the maximum expression of the typicality of Montalcino and the only one allowed in its most prestigious wines, the Rosso and Brunello, representing the company's entire production.

The property slopes down to the Orcia River, with 14 planted hectares. After years of organic farming, they started getting certification in 2018. The vineyards are mostly situated around the main house and cellar, at an average altitude of 350 m, with a south-easterly exposure. Planting rows at right angles to avoid sun damage, they can obtain much deeper, more vibrant, more mouth-filling, and peculiarly sturdy wines than those north of Montalcino. A smaller parcel of 2 hectares was acquired in 2018 to produce a second single-vineyard Brunello from the Montosoli area, one of Montalcino's most traditional and prized subzones. Alberto Machetti, son of the previous owner of the estate, manages the winemaking with the assistance of expert enologists Attilio Pagli and Stefano Bartolomei.

Founded: As TBT in 2012 (The estate was first planted in 1994)

Land: 14 hectares, 250 - 350 meters above sea level, southeast exposure

Grape: Sangiovese

Appellation: Rosso di Montalcino DOC, Brunello di Montalcino DOCG

Viticulture: Organic

Training system: Guyot

Harvest: Hand-picked by their team

Annual Production:Approx 50-60k bottles annual