Topping up & Recorking

For almost a century at the Fattoria dei Barbi in Montalcino (SI) we have filled and replaced the corks of our bottles of Brunello and Brunello Riserva dei Barbi – kept in our Cellars where there is a complete collection from 1892 to today – and, free of charge, also the bottles of our customers.

Topping up is a necessary operation to extend the life of Brunello and allow it to properly age. With the passage of time, the level of wine in the bottle diminishes; the cork loses elasticity and cohesion, and does not adhere perfectly to the glass; it is therefore necessary to fill the wine back to the right level and change the cork.

Click here to download Topping Up & Recorking Regulations for the year 2023 | Fattoria dei Barbi [.pdf]

The Topping Up & Recorking is an exclusive process run by Maurizio Cecchini, our cellarmaster: it is possible to bring your Brunello bottles – as long as they are over twenty years old – in the Fattoria dei Barbi to be topped up by leaving them in the cellar and then being notified when they are ready. The topping up has some several steps: after the visual, olfactory and gustatory examination, the bottles is topped with wine preserved in optimal condition in our cellars and finally with the recorking with brand new Barbi corks and the subsequent placing of the new capsule on the bottle. Finally, the old cork is tied to the neck of the bottle with a red thread. Topping up is done only for bottles which have been properly stored: bottles deemed unsuitable will be returned to their owners without being topped up.

For information and reservation please apply to the Hospitality Office: info@fattoriadeibarbi.it

Tel: +39 577 841111 | Saturday and Sunday +39 577 841205 (Wine Shop) – Fax: +39 577 841112