Wines from Tuscany | Montalcino

If Montosoli is the great Montalcino cru in the north, then the Sesta area between Castelnuovo dell'Abate and Sant'Angelo in Colle is its southern counterpart. This is where the Lisini vineyards are located.

This is the top wine from Il Poggione, and it is a must for anyone who collects wines from this famous vineyard. The estate's oldest parcel, Vigna Paganelli, is a 12-hectare vineyard that was planted back in 1964. It boasts a rich variety of old Sangiovese clones, which are used for the newer plantings.

Pietradonice 2020 is so easy and pleasant to drink that it is almost dangerous: the bottle is finished much quicker than you would like. In Montalcino, there are few alternatives to the local Sangiovese grape, and wines of this quality made from Cabernet Sauvignon can be counted on one hand. Rich, dark ruby red in colour, followed by ripe aromas of blackberries, plums, spices and sweet tobacco. Complex and multi-layered on the palate, with wonderfully polished tannins and already a beautiful accessibility. Juicy on the attack and on the palate, very well-developed fruit, monumentally long final. Giacomo Neri's Pietradonice is Cabernet Sauvignon at the highest level and has become a legend, as there is hardly a wine in Montalcino that can even come close to equalling it. SUPERIORE.DE

Hardly any Brunello is as authentic as the wines from Le Potazzine - they reveal the whole truth of the Sangiovese grape. The result is neither completely polished, nor is it boring or predictable. The 2020 Brunello di Montalcino achieves a degree of extreme authenticity and originality that you don't find on every corner in the appellation. It is a wine full of understatement and equally great personality, for which one must take time and leisure to discover every last nuance. On the nose, it reveals a subtle and well-composed bouquet of red roses, spices, earth and wild mushrooms. As always with Le Potazzine, there is also a wild hint of rusticity. On the palate, this Brunello reveals its powerful fruit and perfectly integrated tannins. Like a friend you can rely on, this Brunello is both a role model and a lovable buddy. SUPERIORE.DE

Lorenzo Sassetti's Riserva has a dense texture and resolute power. Brilliant, rich ruby colour with a garnet rim. A core of dark fruits and black cherries is framed by spices, toast, pressed rose and earthy garden soil. Firm, very dense tannins, builds up in many layers, savoury, ripe fruit, firm pressure and not a hint of dryness on the final, great potential. SUPERIORE.DE

Brunello di Montalcino Gli Angeli Riserva 2018 is stunningly beautiful. Its seductive presentation beguiles with rich dark fruits, sweet mint, spice and a grounding hint of floral undergrowth. Its textures are seamless, gliding over a core of fresh, bright acids that flank its black cherry and redcurrant flavours. Notes of liquorice, tobacco and sweet herbs linger long over a gentle layer of fine tannin. It has a juiciness, finesse and structure that will give it a long life. SUPERIORE.DE

The Magistra Brunello was vinified for the second time in 2019. Produced in a small edition of just over 1,000 bottles, it is the estate's new flagship wine. It is an extremely rigorous selection of the best grapes from the small Magistra vineyard, which is located south of Montalcino at around 400 metres above sea level. The vines are surrounded by a holm oak forest, which benefits from exposure with night-time ventilation from the Orcia Valley. This favours the development of the aromas, which are noticeable in the intense Sangiovese bouquet of crushed sour cherries, spiced blood oranges, minty herbs and a hint of sweet smoke. Silky yet lively on the palate, driven by a lively acidity that effortlessly carries the mineral fruit of the red berries across the palate together with the polished tannins. A gem of a wine! SUPERIORE.DE

The hills south of Montalcino know no half measures. The Sant'Angelo vineyard in Colle, at 300 metres above sea level with all-day southern exposure, produces Sangiovese with an almost demonstrative strength of character – and the 2018 vintage gives this strength an elegant, cool note. A wet spring, hot June and July months, then a patient August with moderate temperatures and light rain showers: The vines had time to find themselves. The grapes were harvested in mid-September, with a yield of just 39 quintals per hectare – far below average, but concentrated. Col d'Orcia remains true to itself: maceration for 18 to 20 days in the characteristic flat, wide steel tanks – developed for gentle but effective extraction of colour and tannin. Then three years in large oak barrels from Slavonia and Allier (25 to 75 hectolitres), followed by at least twelve months of bottle ageing.

Traditionally vinified, its intense ruby red colour, the fruity aroma with spicy and balsamic notes and its gentle start on the palate, which builds furiously, are impressive. The high-class tannin structure rests between the soft components, so that this Brunello from the dream year 2019 simultaneously demonstrates elegance and strength without appearing too modern. SUPERIORE.DE

An exotic blend of sweet smoke and cloves gives way to dusty black cherries and a hint of sour citrus fruit as the 2019 vintage unfolds in the glass. After a while, there are hints of musk and floral undergrowth. Pure elegance on the palate, delicate and silky, but also with a core of salty minerals that adds unexpected depth to the vibrant flavours of tart wild berries and spices. Finishes with incredible persistence but also composure, structured yet primary, just as it should be at this young stage. The higher altitudes and almost minimalist winemaking at Le Potazzine have helped to produce one of the most balanced and interesting wines of the 2019 top vintage for us. SUPERIORE.DE

Gigliola Giannetti was born on the Argiano wine estate, the daughter of an employee in the wine cellar. She grew up among barrels and vines, the smell of fermenting must was the scent of her childhood. At 19, she joined Franco Biondi Santi, and later Giulio Gambelli encouraged her to make wine herself. In 1993, the time had come: first parcel, first child – daughter Viola. Three years later came two more hectares and daughter Sofia. Today, three women stand together in the cellar and three generations of Montalcino in one line. Le Potazzine is one of the highest vineyards in the appellation: 450 to 530 metres, where the harvest begins up to three weeks later than in the valley. What used to be considered a disadvantage is now worth its weight in gold – the grapes ripen slowly, retain their acidity and develop finesse instead of mere vigour. Vinification is uncompromisingly traditional: spontaneous fermentation, 30 to 45 days of maceration, no temperature control. The wine then rests for 42 months in large Slavonian oak barrels – six months longer than is even required for a Riserva. So every Brunello from Le Potazzine is actually a Riserva. Why don't they call it that? Modesty, or perhaps quiet pride.

Le Lucére is not a wine for coincidences. The plot – almost 2.5 hectares, east-facing, Galestro and slate, vines that have been rooted in this soil for more than a quarter of a century – only becomes a single-vineyard bottling under certain conditions. 2018 was such a year, although the world of Brunello experts initially reacted cautiously. Wrongly so. The eastern exposure of San Filippo is a quiet privilege for cooler years: no blazing afternoon sunshine that burns the fruit and hardens the tannins. Instead – morning light, slow ripening, precision. The vines did not suffer. They concentrated. Caciorgna vinified in steel, fermented in concrete, put the wine first in barrique and tonneau, then in large 20 to 30 hectolitre barrels. More than three years of ageing, one year in the bottle. The wine needed the time.

Brunello Magistra is an extremely rigorous selection of the best grapes from the small vineyard of the same name, which is located south of Montalcino at an altitude of around 400 metres above sea level. The vines are surrounded by a holm oak forest, which benefits from exposure with night-time ventilation from the Orcia Valley. This favours the development of the aromas, which are noticeable in the intense Sangiovese bouquet of crushed sour cherries, spiced blood oranges, minty herbs and a hint of sweet smoke. Silky yet lively on the palate, driven by a lively acidity that effortlessly carries the mineral fruit of the red berries across the palate together with the polished tannins. A gem of a wine! SUPERIORE.DE

Le Macioche Riserva 2019 has the same slender and bright appearance as the Annata and the fine aromas of wild berries and cassis associated with Sangiovese. Racy and supple, it sweeps across the palate with a silky texture and shows tart wild berries and sour citrus fruit, all accompanied by lively acidity. The finish is long, with an earthy aftertaste. A very successful Riserva from a wonderful year, which has been interpreted very convincingly in this wine. SUPERIORE.DE

The Riserva Lupi e Sirene (Wolves and Mermaids) label is reminiscent of the good old days when Podere le Ripi was so remote that the howling of the wolves was the only sound you could hear at night.

2019 shone in Montalcino. No critic who tasted it spent long searching for words. No overripeness, no heat scars, no compromises. And for an east-facing vineyard like Le Lucére – fully exposed to the first light of the morning – this meant that the Sangiovese Grosso was harvested with a ripeness that has rarely been so precisely predictable. Harvested early, fresh and concentrated at the same time. Caciorgna allowed the wine to pass through all of its stages: 13 to 14 months in barrique and tonneau, then almost 28 months in large containers – an ageing process that demands and receives depth. The result is a Le Lucére of princely stature.

2020 posed a simple question for Montalcino's winegrowers: who has the better terroir? In a hot, dry year – august temperatures close to 40 degrees – it was not just the manual labour in the vineyard that decided, but the geology. Le Lucére responded with Galestro and slate: soils that hold water deeper, moderate temperatures and preserve freshness when patience and acidity have long since given way elsewhere. Organic farming since 2013 has paid off many times over in years like these. Living soils, deep-rooted vines, no drought stress that forces chemical interventions. Paolo Caciorgna didn't have to save anything. He just had to listen.

Dark bouquet of cherry and plum sauces mixed with cloves and grapefruit peel. This is pure elegance, rich and supple, even polished in feel, while masses of mineral-tinged red berries flow over a core of vibrant acidity. The tannins arrive late and intermingle with a concentrated layer of primary fruit, leaving a classically structured impression. It is already clear that this wine will make its fans very happy in a few years' time. SUPERIORE.DE

Altesinos Riserva is a taut and firm wine with perfectly nuanced fruit and an impressive aristocracy that always characterises the great elegance of Altesinos wines. In addition to its noble restraint, this Riserva is extremely refined, revealing a cosy ripeness with precise cherry aromas, spices, leather and traces of liquorice. Already exceptionally good today, it will certainly be even better in a few years' time! SUPERIORE.DE