Producer: Gello

Poggio al Gello, Tuscany (Italy)

I was tipped off about the wines of Giorgio Chiarini and Alda Nelli in the early summer of 2014 by a friend who said the wines are just like Brunello di Montalcino but, because they come from nearby Montecucco, cost a fraction of the price. Understandably, I wanted to learn more so contacted them and got chatting. As well as Sangiovese Grosso (the clone producing the highest quality Sangiovese, as in Brunello), they are keen to revive native Tuscan varieties such as Pugnitello (and they make a cracking example of this).

The farm is in Tuscany, in the hills of Maremma in the Montecucco DOC, 30km south of Siena. The estate comprises 16ha, four of which are vineyards, 70% planted to Sangiovese (annual production is around 20,000 bottles). As well as wines, they make some rather good olive oils and they are certified organic ICEA for all their production since 2001 (they took over the estate in 1998).

All the wines are mono-varietals and made using indiginous yeasts and traditional methods. The two Sangiovese wines - Rosso di Gello and the Riserva - are simply stunning. By January 2015, the basic Rosso had got into its stride and, without knocking you for six, is simply the sort of wine you (or I, at least) can't put down. Being organic makes this less of a problem. At 15 years old, it is still going strong.

Frequently asked questions

We discovered wine when making a last grand tour of Europe before settling down to our careers. The old VW camper van inevitably kept breaking down and we found ourselves with time on our hands in the Loire, Bordeaux and, especially, the Rhône. There were only so many rivers to jump into to cool down in that hot summer so we started tasting wine - real wine, not the stuff we had been buying in the supermarkets. We returned to England knowing we would be starting a specialist wine import business importing from the Southern Rhône before expanding the list along with our interests to include a range of excellent mid-price Burgundy, Languedoc, Loire...

The decision to focus on France initially came about for two main reasons:

1. France still offers the highest quality and widest range of styles of wine of any wine-producing country;

2. By concentrating on a smaller geographical area it is possible to offer better value.

Since then, we have succumbed to the allure of Italy and have found some amazing wines from Piedmont, Tuscany, Veneto and, more recently, Basilicata and Puglia in the far south, all superb wines at affordable prices. Great food wines too so, whatever you are eating, you will find something to match it here.

Some restrictions we place on ourselves: only buy wines direct from the producers and sell by the (mixed) case to offer the best prices throughout the UK for wines of this quality. Also, and perhaps most important, only buy wines we like to drink ourselves.

Wines are stored in a temperature-controlled bonded warehouse so they never suffer overheating and dried-out corks which can so easily spoil good wines bought from shops and supermarkets. As we don't have a shop, our overheads are low which in turn enables us to keep our prices as low as possible.

Furthermore, unlike many other internet wine merchants, The Big Red Wine Company will mix cases at no extra charge.

We can store your wines at our bonded warehouse in Basildon for £8 plus VAT per case per year.

We will work quickly to ship your order as soon as possible. Once your order has shipped, you will receive an email with further information. Delivery times vary depending on your location.

Most wines can be purchased "in bond". This means that you only pay for the wine itself until you remove it from storage, at which time you will pay the duty and VAT at the prevailing rates together with any shipping charges. If a wine does not have an "in bond" price, please ask if you are interested in purchasing it this way as all wines are stored at the bond until sold.

Delivery is free on all orders over £200.
Otherwise, delivery is charged at £10 per delivery address for orders between £50 and £200.
Whilst we accept orders under £50, the delivery charge is £20 to cover the costs charged to us by the bonded warehouse.

Account

Poggio al Gello, Tuscany (Italy)

Poggio al Gello, Montecucco 2010 'Rosso del Gello'

Poggio al Gello, Montecucco Riserva 2012

Frequently asked questions