The Martoccia history starts from far away. We have some news about Martoccia as farm and land in 1300. Here is what can be read in the parchment papers of the Convent of Sant'Agostino, in which the vineyards of Martoccia are the subject of notarial acts and trade.
With one of the highest cellars in Montalcino, not only is the view from Luca Brunelli’s hillside estate breathtaking, but you could catapult a stone from the town’s famous fortress (one of the last to fall in Siena’s wars against Firenze) and be assured a hit. In a bit of sweet irony, along with the altitude come some of the lowest yields in the entire Brunello DOCG.
Taking the bonsai approach to his craft, Luca is a master when it comes to sculpting small plants with excruciatingly low yields. His Sangiovese Grosso vines only grow 20 inches high, for example, with the lowest grapes often a mere 6 inches off the ground!
Permitting only 4 clusters per plant for his Brunello, it is physically impossible for him to get even 1 bottle from each vine. Just to put things in perspective, this means his Brunello has lower yields than some of the most expensive Right Bank Bordeaux.
