Az. Agr. Roccapesta
Castell`in Villa
Cerbaiona
Fattoria La Fiorita s.r.l
Mannuci Droandi
Palazzo Vecchio
Rocca di Montegrossi
Tenuta Le Potazzine
Tuscany, Italy
Medium ruby with garnet hues - lighter in colour but not in flavour profile. A very fragrant and attractive nose of wild red berries and rose petals. Ethereal on the palate, this vintage will delight those who enjoy elegance and graceful expression of Sangiovese.
Brunello di Montalcino Riserva
Calestaia
This has recently been voted as one of the Best 50 Italian wines and it's not hard to see why. Vinified in large wooden vats and aged for 24 months in botti, this has power, weight and elegance. The nose is complex with red berries and star anise opening up into figs, bay leaves and underbrush. The power comes through on the palate but it maintains a sense of poise. This will age for decades - a super Tuscan without the hefty price tag.
Cerbaiona Brunello di Montalcino
Cerbaiona IGT Toscana Rosso
This is a wine that really jumps out of the glass. Bursting with refined, expressive, almost crunchy red fruit flavours, this is simply delicious right now. The mix of ripe fruit and cool structure is just perfect and the finish is mouthwatering and long. Perfect food wine for the likes of the `3Ps` of partridge, pork and pheasant. We sold out of this year`s allocation of the Brunello in a couple of weeks and a fifth of the price we expect this to go the same way.
Cerbaiona Rosso di Montalcino
Intensely appealing nose of bramble and forest fruit with a hint of developing underbrush. This opens up into top notes of jasmine and tea and has quite a grandiose texture - just hitting it's stride. Bright balanced acidity marries perfectly with the velvety tannins. This over-achiever is one of the bargains of the offer.
Chianti Classico `San Marcellino`
The San Marcellino is made from the best grapes harvested from the excellent San Marcellino vineyard that surrounds the church of the same name. The 2013 is 93% Sangiovese with 7% of Pugnitello in the blend. It is released after spending two years in barriques and might be the best vintage we have ever tasted here. Bright cherry and forest fruit is intertwined with pain d'epice and ginger spice. The cascading acid is harmonious and bright, allowing the purity of fruit to shine through. The finish is long and mineral. One to enjoy over the next 10-15 years.
Chianti Colli Aretini
Geremia IGT
Following Marco Ricasoli`s desires, GEREMIA expresses the terroir of Monti in Chianti with the Bordeaux varietals, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon (65 and 35%, respectively). It ages exclusively in medium-toast barriques from Allier for about 24 months, after which it is bottled without filtration and bottle aged for another 18 months. It is a powerful, intense wine that also displays elegance and balance, and expresses the character of the terroir. Intense ruby, with violet nail, and with complex aromas that bring to mind sour cherries, currants and other wild berry fruit, mingled with licorice and vanilla. A wine of great structure and complexity, which is soft and velvety thanks to its richness and the perfect ripeness of the tannins. Annual production is about 12,000 bottles.
This wine is named after the founder of Marco's family from the 8th century and is a blend of 76% Merlot and 24% Cabernet Sauvignon. It is aged in barriques for 2 years, bottled unfiltered, and always displays great finesse and complexity. Marco selected heavily in 2014 and only made 50% of his normal production of Geremia – a decision he felt was the right thing to do but one he knows he will regret in time! It has a concentrated dark berry nose with distinctive pepper, graphite and warm, sweet spice. The tannins are well controlled and the Gaiole terroir really comes through.
La Fiorita Rosso di Montalcino
Classic sangiovese aromas of redcurrant and fresh morello cherry with warm spice and minerality running through, all supported by a silky texture. Fleshy on the mid palate, it finishes with an uplifting freshness. Plenty of structure here - ripe acidity balances out the tannins – a rosso that can be enjoyed for 5+ years.
Parus
Ribeo
This comes from Roccapesta`s vineyards, close to the coast which are exposed to gentle Tyrrhenian sea breezes. Because of the cooler climate we get plenty of red cherry and berry fruit as well as some earthy, meaty Sangiovese flavours.
2015 was a great vintage for Alberto and which is evident when you taste this wine. Black cherry and blackberry fruit the attack, with cinnamon, bitter orange and balsamic notes. Despite the warm feel, there is freshness and tannins are fine and round. There is tremendous energy and vibrancy to this wine, with a long and complex finish. Impressive balance.
Rosato di Toscana
Pale amber pink in colour, 100% Sangiovese `on the skins`. Fresh, fruity. On the nose, a mixture of blood orange and pomegrante. Medium bodied, smooth. 92 pints, Tony Wood.
Le Potazzine is a mere five hectares of vines, four of which are located around the cellar. The rest comes from a planting further south which helps add an extra dimension and level of complexity to the wines. Previously this wine was aged in stainless steel but now it is aged in large oak foudres, though not new. It is all about purity, refinement and balance with coolness of fruit and stylish tannins. Drink from 2015.
The quality of this blew us away, so much that we ordered it in bottles, magnums and jeroboams! This has good colour, with ripe aromas of sweet blackberry, wild cherry and fresh flowers. Lots of aromatic and flavour complexity. Fresh acidity keeps the palate clean and melds into a long, precise elegant finish. Antonio Galloni has always said "I believe that Le Potazzine make one of Montalcino's best Rosso wines of all" and we certainly agree with him.
Strawberry and cherry fruit combined with bright cherry acidity. The warmth of the vintage gives volume and breadth but the structure is redolent of their cool site (570m asl). This skillfully made Rosso demonstrates why they consistently produce one of the top Rosso`s in Montalcino.
San Marcellino Vertical 2009/10/11
3 x 37.5cl
Marco's brilliant Vin Santo was made from 100% Malvasia di Toscana in 2008. The bunches are hung one by one on nets in a well-ventilated space under the rafters where the grapes are affected by noble rot. Workers come in every ten days or so and remove the grapes that are ready until about January when the pressing takes place. The thick juice is then aged in casks for about six years and allowed to mellow somewhat. The 2008 has almost 400 grams per litre of residual sugar, not that you would know it from the balanced acidity. It is pure nectar to taste (well drink, as it is impossible to spit this out), intensely concentrated and everchanging, aromas of walnut, syrup, gingerbread with intense butterscotch on the palate. Hugely complex. Marco describes it as 'poetry to pour'!
Vino Nobile di Montepulciano DOCG
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