Kirsten and Peter Kern bought Il Palazzone with the dream of making the kind of wine that originally made them fall in love with Brunello - the classic style of Brunello with bright and balanced wines, fine tannins, and elegance.  Over the last 20 years many producers embraced the change in new world tastes and reviewers, and moved their wines towards more modern styles - more new oak, smaller barrels, more fruit forward, darker tannic wines.   These style changes were also aided by Mother Nature: as global warming continued to heat up Montalcino the grapes produced higher sugar and more alcohol, lending themselves naturally to the modern style.  But as long-time lovers of Brunello, the Kerns were seeking an opportunity to create a wine that marked a return to the traditional wine-making roots of Montalcino.  So, when Kirsten and Peter started searching for a vineyard, they knew they needed to find terroir that lent itself to classic wine making, and which could sustain that approach even in a changing climate.  They wanted vineyards that could produce Sangiovese that, like Pinot Noir in Burgundy, displays elegance and balance from the start, but with enough complexity to age and mature into something even more special over decades.  When they found Il Palazzone, they knew they had found the right spot.