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Among Montalcino’s historic estates, Cerbaiona traces its roots back to 1454. Today, it follows a production approach attentive to innovation.

The manor house and small chapel date to the seventeenth century, yet Cerbaiona reaches further back. Tax records from 1454 show that Cerbaiona already existed, complete with fields, vineyards, and a dwelling, and was therefore subject to taxation.

Its productive heart is state-of-the-art: the fermentation and ageing cellars, whose cross vaults lend the space an almost basilica-like clarity, complemented by a sixteenth-century vincellaro. Around them, the Italian-style gardens spill seamlessly into the vineyards.

This is the cult Brunello estate of Cerbaiona, which stands 400 meters above sea level, visible from far away like a watchtower.

A minor road branches off from the main route to Montalcino, passes through woods and vineyards, rises and levels out repeatedly, and finally comes to an end—at Cerbaiona. As the gate swings open, a world that inspires harmony and instills calm gradually unfolds. The villa, chapel, winery, and gardens are completely at one with the natural surroundings, in an equilibrium of forms and colors.

For centuries Cerbaiona has embodied this corner of Montalcino. The estate’s wine label features one of the five towers of the town’s fortress, a symbol of Montalcino’s history and resilience. In 1553, Montalcino withstood a siege by the troops of Emperor Charles V and the Medici and emerged victorious, like the Greek polis in the face of the Persian empire. The label recalls that episode, one of the defining moments of the area’s past.

Cerbaiona combines the power of tradition and the demands of the present, because “Tradition is not the worship of ashes, but the preservation of fire”.

Gustav Mahler