Since the first wine J. G. Benda released, the dazzling 2021 Rosso di Montalcino, we have been eagerly anticipating the arrival of this young estate’s Brunello and single-vineyard Pietrafocaia bottlings. In a prestigious region like Montalcino, where any change is immediately scrutinized, the whirlwind arrival on the scene of John Benda and his partner, Zoë, has commanded everyone’s attention…

While still a teenager, Jean Foillard reluctantly agreed to work at the family domaine at his father’s behest. It was the early 1980s, and most growers in the Beaujolais had long ago heeded the siren’s call of easy chemical farming and oenologically assisted winemaking. To say that Jean drank whiskey instead of wine tells of the sad state of the region...