brunello di montalcino is a red italian wine. it is made in the vineyards surrounding the town of montalcino about southwest of florence, tuscany, italy. brunello, roughly translated as "nice dark one" in the local dialect, is the unofficial name of the clone of sangiovese (also known as "sangiovese grosso") grown in the montalcino region. in 1980, the brunello di montalcino was awarded the first "denominazione di origine controllata e garantita" (docg) designation and today is one of the italy's best-known and most expensive wines.