Winery Overview
Elia's property is in the heart of a wild Tuscan forested area in Southwestern Montalcino. On just 17 acres (7 total hectares), Elia Palazessi is the first to produce wine for commercial sale from his family's 100-year-old estate which previously operated as a livestock and cereal farm. Elia lives on the property with his wife Michaela and daughter Zoe. His niece Sofia works with the family as an ambassador and marketer. His beloved horse’s name is Bella. The soils are rich in clay with sand and stone for good drainage. Elia manages to obtain the very best from these alluvial soils, creating concentrated wines suitable for long aging. The area’s climatic characteristics require careful thinning of bunches and very attentive canopy management as the grapes ripen, to protect against intense sunlight and winds that blow in from the sea. Elia carries out these operations himself completely by hand and has been working with newer Brunello clones to test what works best in his vineyard. Grapes are fermented from each vineyard separately in stainless steel and blended after aging. Lorenzo Landi is the oenologist who works with Elia in the cellar. Natural yeast is added only if needed, but otherwise they use native yeasts. Elia ages everything for longer than is required. Elia ages his wines in large barrels, with short passages in smaller barrels to first harmonize the wines. Elia uses Slavonian oak only, with different types of toasted barrels, and he ages all his wines longer than required. His Rosso is aged 10 – 12 months, his Brunello is aged 30 months, and his Riserva is aged 40 months. He uses the oldest and largest botti for Rosso. For Brunello, use both small and large oak barrels. Riserva is only aged in 25hl barrel. Only 80 – 90 producers of ~250 are originally from Montalcino, including Verbena and Elia Palazzesi’s families who have been in the appellation for generations. Catching the midday heat and lush evening sun, full-bodied and spicy wines are produced here; a Brunello for long cellaring and a Rosso that challenges many Brunellos. Certified Organic by ICEA since 2011.