Red Wine of the Year Award goes to Brunello di Montalcino Vigna del Suolo '16 by Argiano

This year, the Red of the Year award goes to Vigna del Suolo '16, an extraordinary Brunello di Montalcino resulting from an excellent harvest. The location is on the southwestern side of Montalcino, on a spur of rock overlooking the Val d’Orcia.

The winery: Argiano

Argiano is one of the oldest estates in the area dating back to 1580. Since the planting of the vineyard its wines have enjoyed great prestige (the poet Carducci also loved them); for some years now following the acquisition of the estate in 2012 by Andrè Santos Esteves, a Brazilian entrepreneur, we have witnessed a real renaissance of the company––which even in the 1980s thanks to the commitment of Noemi Marone Cinzano and Giacomo Tachis https://www.gamberorosso.it/notizie/notizie-vino/e-morto-giacomo-tachis-grazie-a-lui-il-vino-italiano-e-diventato-importante-nel-mondo/ a distinguished winemaker––was among the most critically acclaimed. Today it is directed with passion and competence by Bernardino Sani, oenologist and CEO, alongside whom we find Francesco Monari, agronomist. The foundations of this renewed success were laid precisely with the restructuring of the vineyards and the micro-zoning of each parcel.

Vigna del Suolo

For years the grapes from the vigna del Suolo, which is now 55 years old, flowed into the Brunello, but with the '15 vintage the new selection label was born. "They are the oldest vineyards of the estate" Bernardino told us, "and with our arrival in '14 we immediately realised that they deserved a separate vinification. They are at 320 meters above sea level, on a soil of clayey-limestone marl, a soil rich in skeleton, in fossils that bring us back to when this was a seabed. The ideal soil to fully express the character of our ancient Sangiovese grosso clones, thanks to the acidic and savoury profile that it imparts to the wines." After the excellent '15 vintage, here is a dazzling 2016, which literally made us fall in love with this cru, for its richness, elegance and expressive depth. Only some of the parcels of the vineyard converge on this label. Long maturation in 15-hectolitre Allie oak barrels (with the '16 also ovoid barrels appear) and a time in the bottle complete it and prepare it to face the market and the challenge of time.

Brunello di Montalcino Vigna del Suolo '16 Tre Bicchieri

The wine is announced with a deep ruby ​​colour, and opens with a seductive bouquet with ripe cherries and small fruits turning to more complex notes of tobacco, floral and scrub, and then fade into spice and citrus peel. The mouth is wide, deep, clear, supported by a rich acidic structure that supports an intact and pulpy fruit and tannins of spectacular finesse. Rich but not dense, it is assertive, deep, very elegant, with an extraordinary vitality that predicts glorious aging. We will talk about it for a long time...

Argiano srl Società Agricola - Sant’Angelo In Colle – Montalcino (SI) - +39 0577 844 037 - www.argiano.net