Montalcino, Tuscany
Casa Brunello
6 vintages since 2021. 3 of 3 blocks open for commission.
"Three blocks, three exposures, one grape. Five-year commitment because Brunello asks for patience and release happens in year four."
Winemaker
Lorenzo Rinaldi
Philosophy
The land speaks; the winemaker translates.
Lorenzo Rinaldi is the second generation at Casa Brunello, a ten-hectare estate on the southern slope of Montalcino. He studied enology at San Michele all'Adige and spent four vintages in Piedmont before returning to take over from his father in 2018. He makes Brunello, Rosso, and a small amount of an unoaked Sangiovese that doesn't leave the cellar unless you ask.
Brunello is a twenty-year wine. Our commission blocks reflect that — we're asking for five years, but the wine you make in year one won't be released until year four. You taste it every step. You own the decisions about when and how.
Sangiovese rewards patience in a way Cabernet doesn't. You cannot push it. You cannot trick it. If the vintage is cool, the wine is lean, and that's the wine. If it's hot, the wine is dense, and that's the wine. I refuse to correct a vintage. The vintage is the point.
I open three blocks for commission. Each is on a different exposure — one south-facing and warm, one at altitude with late ripening, one on the Sant'Angelo side with older soil. You're not just buying fruit. You're buying a slope.
Choose a plot
A schematic of the vineyard. Each rectangle is a named block. Click one to see the details — vine count, varietal, soil, exposure, yield, price.
Schematic, not to scale. Relative positions reflect the vineyard map but block sizes are stylized for clarity.
Available
Podere Sud
- Vine count
- 320 vines
- Varietal
- Sangiovese Grosso, mass selection from 1970s
- Soil
- Galestro and clay, south-facing, 320m elevation
- Exposure
- All-day sun, warmest block on the estate
- Planted
- 1978
- Typical yield
- 1.3 tons — roughly 110 cases at Cellarmaster tier
- Price
- $9,200/year
- Commitment
- 5 years
The arc
What three to five years looks like.
The relationship changes year over year. You don't show up in year five the way you showed up in year one.
You visit for harvest. You meet the crew. You taste the verijuice, the post-ferment sample, the first barrel pulls. You're still learning the shape of your block — what the drainage looks like, where the morning sun lands, how the fruit tastes two weeks before the pick.
The fine print
What the commitment covers — and what it doesn't.
What's included
Sample progression
Verijuice, post-ferment sample, quarterly barrel pulls, and finished wine. Three to four times the volume of a Crew Vintner tier.
Voting on major decisions
Pick timing, oak regime, blend trials, bottling date. The winemaker makes the call — you're in the room.
Custom label with your name
On the back label of every bottle from your block, every vintage, for the length of your commitment.
Annual allocation
Typical: 12–36 bottles depending on plot size and commitment tier.
Harvest visit invitation
Open invitation to be on the ground the day of the pick, every vintage you commit to.
Priority access to the winery's library
Older vintages, small-lot releases, and back-library allocations before they're offered elsewhere.
Direct line to the winemaker
Text, call, email. Not a concierge, not a customer service queue. The winemaker.
What's not
Land ownership
You do not own the vines. The vineyard farms, harvests, and makes the wine. A Block Commission is a long-term relationship, not a real estate transaction.
Farming labor
You are not expected to work the vineyard. You're welcome to visit, prune, help pick — but none of it is required and none of it is assumed.
Risk-free returns
Vintages vary. A cold, wet year means less wine. A hot year means riper wine. We don't make up the difference with fruit from other blocks. That's wine.
Pricing
How it's structured.
Commitment
3 or 5 years
Three-year commitments are the standard. Five-year commitments are offered on every block and get preferential renewal, older library access, and longer relationships with the winemaker. Some older or rarer plots are five-year only.
Payment cadence
Annual or monthly
Pay for the full year up front, or split into twelve monthly payments. Monthly cadence carries a small service fee. First payment clears before any farming decisions are shared.
What sets the price
Plot and varietal
Price scales with plot size, varietal desirability, vine age, and expected yield. An old-vine parcel on a steep slope costs more than a flat parcel with young vines — regardless of how much wine it makes.
Example at Casa Brunello
Podere Sud (320 vines, Sangiovese Grosso): $9,200/year × 5 years = $46,000 total
All-in, including samples, allocation, harvest visits, and custom label. Shipping within the continental US included; international pickup at the winery or flat-fee ship.
Next step
Schedule a consultation.
Block Commissions involve contracts and real money. Before you commit, we want to talk. Tell us which plot interests you — we'll set up a call with the winemaker.
Schedule a consultationA real conversation with Lorenzo Rinaldi, not a form response.