2021 Le Ragnaie Civitella Toscano Bianco IGT

When Raj Parr speaks, the wine world listens.

So when this immensely respected sommelier, winegrower, consultant, and author declared Le Ragnaie one of his top three favorite producers in Montalcino, Ragnaie’s status rose quickly.

Inspired by Grand Cru Burgundy, Ragnaie’s owner-winemaker Riccardo Campinoti prioritizes elegance over power and ripeness, earning spots on MICHELIN-starred lists all over the world, and moving Vinous’s Antonio Galloni to marvel at what “can only be described as a virtually unheard of level of success in less than a decade.”

But within Le Ragnaie’s lineup, Campinoti’s exceptionally rare Civitella Bianco is the toughest to taste…and one of the most rewarding. Made from old-vines of Fiano—a grape which creates some of the greatest white wines in Italy when planted in Campania, but is rarely found in Tuscany’s hillsides—and given a brief maceration on the skins, it’s a true vino da meditazione.

It comes from a tiny vineyard of Fiano that Campinoti discovered just beyond his own property lines—and it immediately captured his imagination. One of the more worldly winemakers in Montalcino, he’s long been passionate about the wines of the world, even as he homed in on his high-altitude estate in the early aughts, and these vines give him a chance to make a world-class white, as well. 

The skin-contact imbues the wine with exotic aromatics and flavors matched to a hint of tannin that makes it brilliant with food. It’s a singular bottle, and only about 50 cases make it into the US every year, a quantity which wouldn’t even fill one of the 660L barrels that polish the wine during elevage. We fought for an allocation for years. 

• Fruit Intensity
• Oak Intensity
• Body
• Sweetness
• Acidity

• ABV 12.50%
• 15 mins
• Now – 2027
• % Fiano
• Serving temperature – 48°
• Cork