VINEYARD | The zoning work moves hastily at Argiano. After the first Brunello cru, the Vigna del Suolo (awarded Red of the Year in the 2016 issue in our Wine Guide), the time has come for a second release. It is an adjacent vineyard, planted with the Guyot training system in 2015, which insists on clayey and calcareous soils. "A metre and a half underground we find limestone marl which certainly gives complexity to the wine. We started with the 2019 because we were expecting a worthy vintage for a Sangiovese with great ageing potential," Bernardino Sani tells us. The wine ages for about 18 months in 15hl barrels and then refines for 12 months in the bottle. 3,000 bottles produced.
PERSONS | The wines of Argiano have been known since the end of the 16th century, when the noble Pecci family built the beautiful villa with an adjoining cellar, which still serves as company HQ today. Since 2013, the estate has been owned by the Brazilian entrepreneur André Esteves, who has relaunched its wine production, entrusting it to Bernardino Sani and Francesco Monari. Now Argiano is one of the most eco-sustainable companies in the Montalcino area, plastic free since 2019, practices organic agriculture even banning natural insecticides, and reuses, recycling it, all the waste from work in the cellar. The style is increasingly refined and measured, for wines of character and splendid aromatic finesse.
WINE | It is very different from the company's "classic" Rosso di Montalcino. The profile is darker, already as far as colour, with very fragrant scents of Mediterranean maquis, balsamic hints, juniper berries and Sichuan pepper, but also a hint of soil and blood orange. The mouth has a very pleasant progression, punctuated by fine and silky tannins, in a spicy background that grows in intensity and freshness. The overall gustatory cleanliness is excellent, the finish is of black tea and mint. It is the first release and the vineyard is from 2015: we are looking at something impressive.
