The origin story is fascinating. After the death of her father in 1991 the young Giovanna Neri, a law graduate, bravely chose to change careers and make wine, splitting the vineyards with her brother Giacomo of Casanova di Neri. The name is derived from the hill (Col) and one of her estate buildings, Lamo. From 1997 she also planted other small parcels, and she first released her own bottlings in 2003. This project has called for toughness, determination and bank loans – but it was completed with the opening of a smart cellar beside the vines near her home in 2014. Cultivation here has been organic since 2015, certified since the 2018 vintage.  It’s an all female run business: Giovanna is assisted by her daughter Diletta and works closely with Mary Ferrara, a viticulturalist and wine maker, an acolyte of famed Sangiovese consultant Maurizio Castelli.

The Neri family vineyards lie at Torrenieri, just north-east of Montalcino. Torrenieri is relatively low in altitude, at 250-300 metres. Soils are sandstone and clay, with some of the alberese, the limestone-rich land which Sangiovese loves. It’s a warm site and the wines here are always beautifully ripe, powerful, fleshy and well-textured.

Brunello di Montalcino stands at the summit of Sangiovese-based Tuscan wines. Here the quality of the local Sangiovese clone, known as Brunello, has long been recognised, but the area’s reputation has rocketed since the 1960s as the richness and ageing ability of Brunello became apparent. There has therefore been an expansion of the vineyards, albeit from a tiny base: even now only about 1200 hectares are planted. According to the DOCG rules (often revisited), Brunello has to be aged in barrel for two years and a further two years in Bottle: before being released; and it has to be 100% Sangiovese (following a series of scandals regarding the inclusion of Cabernet and Merlot in some producers’ Brunello!).