Le Ragnaie, Brunello di Montalcino Passo del lume Spento, 2021

At 621 meters, Passo del Lume Spento (“lights out”—so windy the locals’ candles blow out) is Montalcino’s highest vineyard, a designation that only recently became possible. Until 2016, this altitude exceeded regulations; Campinoti’s first vintage from this windswept sandstone plateau arrived in 2017. Here, elevation and exposure create a Brunello unlike any other in Le Ragnaie’s portfolio: mid-weight, crunchy with mineral tension, sinewy with an almost Alpine purity. Lavender and fennel drift above smoky earth, and the wine’s sinewy structure speaks to cool-climate ripening and the unique character of high-altitude Montalcino. This is the future of Brunello—elegant, mineral-driven, terroir in its purest form.