Brunello di Montalcino “Passo del Lume Spento” DOCG 2021

Le Ragnaie | Tuscany
Le Ragnaie | Loc. Le Ragnaie | IT 53024 Montalcino

29712421 · 0,75 l · 185,33 €/l · Price (DE) incl. VAT, excl. Shipping< 24 units available
Limitation of 2 articles per customer

Above the vineyard is a brown road sign: Passo del Lume Spento m. 621 s.l.m. The highest point of the entire Brunello appellation. The name is self-explanatory: The wind on this sandstone plateau was so strong that it extinguished the lanterns of the carriages that once crossed this pass. The light always went out. The place remained. No Brunello was allowed to grow here until 2016. The DOCG regulations set an upper limit at 600 metres – and Passo del Lume Spento is at 621 metres. When the rules were changed, Riccardo Campinoti was one of the first to take the plunge. The vines were planted in 2010 and 2012 – young, on a sandstone plateau with south-west exposure, which on clear days offers views as far as the Tyrrhenian Sea. Gaja and Marchesi Antinori have also bought in this zone since then. You don't have to be a clairvoyant to understand why.

What this site produces is the opposite of Montalcino's classic warm image: coolness, tension, salinity, a high mountain freshness that revitalises the wine from within. 35 days of maceration in concrete vats with natural yeasts. 36 months in Slavonian oak barrels. Unfiltered. 3,020 bottles. Brilliant ruby red in the glass with violet reflections of youth. The nose is high-pitched and of almost fragile complexity: dark cherry, plum, dried wild herbs, orange zest, garnet stone, a hint of balsamic vinegar and damp sandstone. On the palate, the Passo is the narrowest, most taut, most mineral of these three wines: a cutting acidity, a dense, still youthfully angular tannin, a finish of exceptional length and saline persistence. Not an accessible wine – one that remains silent and waits until it is ready. In less than twenty years, people will be talking about this vineyard the way they talk about Montosoli today. SUPERIORE.DE

"Grilled herbs and crushed ashen stones give way to pine shavings and woodland berries as the 2021 Brunello di Montalcino Passo Del Lume Spento creates its beguiling bouquet. It is savory to the core, with stern minerality upfront that adds a salty contrast to its core of red fruits and inner rosy florals. Nearly wiry in feel through the finish, it reveals a youthful tension as edgy tannins linger, offset by a bump of residual acidity. In 2021 the Passo Del Lume Spento has an almost sultry character, which I'm really enjoying." Vinous

"Emblematic of Montalcino’s resilience to the warning climate, this bottling hails from bush vines at the region’s highest heights, 621m. Planted in 2012, they are still quite young but managed to yield exceptional profundity and complexity in 2021. The nose is a fascinating interplay of forest roots and bark with exotic Chinese herbs, black tea and sweet vanillin oak. It masters volume and density without weight. The concentrated acidity aligns with perfectly ripe, crisp red plum. Orange zest gives further lift as layered tannins close in." Decanter

"Starts out with plenty of finesse, its silky texture enveloping flavors of cherry, strawberry, rose hip, mineral and wild herbs. As this builds midpalate, a firm line of chalky tannins emerges, along with vibrant acidity, providing the structure to age. Shows superb balance and long aftertaste." Wine Spectator

"The2021 Brunello di Montalcino Passo del Lume Spento offers a blossoming bouquet that shifts continuously with each swirl of the glass. The wine delivers striking freshness and almost icy sensations on the palate, with crisp contours, sharp focus and a brilliantly vertical profile. Sourced from one hectare at 621 meters in elevation on galestro and sandstone soils, it combines darker fruit and savory minerality with firm structure. The high elevation plays a decisive role in preserving the biting freshness and punchy energy that make this wine so compelling." Wine Advocate