This Week's Must-Try Wines from Vinous
Tenuta Le Potazzine
le Potazzine Gorelli Rosso di Montalcino Sangiovese 2017
Rosy, floral, waxy and spicy, the 2017 Rosso di Montalcino impresses most for its savory, almost-savage character and depth of fruit. This is a textural showboat of a wine, silky-smooth yet salty, and with a bump of juicy acidity that brings it all to life. Sweet tannins saturate the palate, unexpectedly so, yet with enough residual fruits and florals to promise a steady evolution. That’s not to say that the 2017 isn’t already enjoyable today; in fact, it’s in a very happy place. (Eric Guido, Vinous, January 2022)
— 3 years ago
Donatella Cinelli Colombini
Fattoria del Colle Cenerentola Orcia 2016
The 2016 Cenerentola is darkly alluring and spicy, showing ripe strawberries, plums, ginger, clove and hints of cocoa powder. It’s silky with broad textures, energized by brisk acidity, as tart wild berries cascade across a mineral core, adding tactile grip toward the close. This finishes long, as fine grippy tannins tug at the palate, along with tart red fruits and a bitter twang of sour citrus. The Cenerentola is an exciting wine to taste, as it contains 35% Foglia Tonda, a native grape of the region which almost went extinct, with Sangiovese as the balance of the wine. The 2016 isn’t quite ready to reveal all of its charms, yet another year or two of cellaring should result in something very special. (Eric Guido, Vinous, January 2022)
— 3 years ago
Podere Le Ripi
Sogni & Follia Rosso di Montalcino Sangiovese 2016
The 2016 Rosso di Montalcino Sogni e Follia is layered and darkly intriguing, even sultry in nature, as dried black cherries give way to exotic Indian curries, brown spice, masses of crushed stone minerality and hints of cocoa. Its silky textures wash an invigorating mix of citrus-tinged red berries and inner herbal tones across the palate, all motivated by a nearly-salty acid profile. Notes of tangerine, ginger and rose fill the senses, as this tapers off incredibly long, staining and lightly structured. This is the current vintage release of the Sogni e Follia, a single-vineyard Rosso di Montalcino that refines for thirty months in large oak barrels prior to bottling. It fits neatly into the category of “Baby Brunello”. (Eric Guido, Vinous, January 2022)
— 3 years ago
Le Chiuse
Rosso di Montalcino Sangiovese 2013
Sweet smoke and roses give way to cedar spice box and bright cherries as the 2013 Rosso di Montalcino opens up in the glass. This is silky, plush and enveloping with sweet berries and hints of balsamic spice. While resolved, the 2013 remains widely energetic with a very pretty inner sweetness, tapering off long to notes of raspberry and licorice. (Eric Guido, Vinous, January 2022)
— 3 years ago
Ciacci Piccolomini d'Aragona
Fabius Sant' Antimo Syrah 2017
The 2017 Fabius shows dark florals and balsam herbs, giving way to crushed ashen stone and hints of damp earth. Here I’m finding velvety textures and fleshy black fruits energized by bright acidity that give way to a staining of minerals and spice. This tapers off lightly structured with remnants of plum and hints of tobacco. It’s a balanced and pleasurable expression of Syrah from Montalcino that refines for six to eight months in a mix of 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th-pass barriques. (Eric Guido, Vinous, January 2022)
— 3 years ago
Pian dell'Orino
Rosso di Montalcino 2018
The 2018 Rosso di Montalcino is delicate and nuanced with a lifted display of wild strawberries, a dusting of confectioners spice and crushed stone. This is light-bodied with incredible purity, coming across as more savory than expected, with saline-minerals and tart wild berries washing across the palate. It tapers off fresh and a bit crunchy, leaving a staining of fruit concentration and hints of exotic citrus. This may not be on the level of Pian dell’Orino’s best Rossos, but it will provide a lot of pleasure over the next few years. Due to the delicate grape skins in 2018, the production of the Rosso is up, and the Brunello will be down. (Eric Guido, Vinous, January 2022)
— 3 years ago
Tenuta Le Potazzine
Le Potazzine Rosso di Montalcino Sangiovese 2019
The 2019 Rosso di Montalcino continues to captivate with a display of dusty black cherries, roses and crushed stone. It’s soft and pliant in feel, yet there’s a core of saline-minerality that stimulates the senses, as tart red berries cascade across the palate, and sweet tannins settle in toward the close. This has evolved wonderfully in bottle over the last nine months, finishing lightly structured yet still so pleasurable today. (Eric Guido, Vinous, January 2022)
— 3 years ago
Ciacci Piccolomini d'Aragona
Rosso di Montalcino Sangiovese 2019
A cooling whiff of minty herbs gives way to dusty cherry and sweet rosy florals as the 2019 Rosso di Montalcino unfolds in the glass. It’s pure and vibrant on the palate, with a cascade of bright wild berry fruits, herbs and minerals. There’s admirable length and a subtle tug of tannin that frames the experience nicely, as this tapers off with a lasting note of hard red candies. (Eric Guido, Vinous, January 2022)
— 3 years ago
Casanova di Neri
Giovanni Neri Rosso di Montalcino Sangiovese 2019
The 2019 Rosso di Montalcino Giovanni Neri is hauntingly dark, with masses of ashen crushed stone and exotic spices that unfold to reveal rich blackberry and plum. This is so soft and silky yet vibrant, cascading ripe red and black fruits across the palate with ease, as minerals slowly saturate. It’s lightly structured with ripe plums and spice, hints of licorice and a flourish of salty minerals. The 2019 will be enjoyable right out of the gate, but it will also hold up nicely through short-term cellaring. (Eric Guido, Vinous, January 2022)
— 3 years ago
Delectable Wine
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Wild raspberries, hints of clove and sweet minty herbs lift up to form an inviting bouquet as the 2019 Rosso di Montalcino opens up in the glass. While silky in feel, there’s tremendous concentration here, motivated by brisk acids, drenching the palate in tart wild berries and minerals. Grippy tannins linger long, making for a lightly structured and penetrating finale. This full-throttle yet balanced Rosso is showing beautifully, but it needs some time to soften. (Eric Guido, Vinous, January 2022)
— 3 years ago