As we rolled into Sant’Angelo in Colle (Montalcino) yesterday, you could feel the cool sea breeze from the west and the gentle clouds that appeared at the summit of Mt. Amiata — the sleeping giant — dissipated by sundown.

My friend Fabrizio Bindocci — winemaker at the Tenuta Il Poggione — said yields would be lower this year. But the concerns raised by a rainy spring had been allayed by a nearly perfect summer. They’re expecting a fantastic vintage, he said, and they had begun picking the Sangiovese for their 2013 Brunello yesterday morning.

This morning we’re going to taste a 1979 “Rosso dei vigneti del Brunello” with Fabrizio at the winery. He believes — and he’s not the only one — that this vintage may achieve the same greatness of that unforgettable year.

Posting in a hurry this morning as the internets come and go here in southwest Montalcino.

So much to tell, so little time…