The real Montalcino

MONTALCINO VIEW 
Montalcino a great town in Tuscany in the provence of Siena, people all over the world know this small village for their incredible wine made with Sangiovese actually a particular clone called Sangiovese Grosso; due to the fact of concentration of terpene and flavonoid and small black berries a bit different of the other type of Sangiovese.
Some producer made this wine travel in the old days all over the world and gave it a strong personality, Biondi Santi perhaps is the father of it.
On my small trip in Montalcino I did try to understand why it is so good, I visit many wineries and I choose them in regards to their way to work the soil and the attention on mother nature which belong to my philosophy of drinking.. I need to drink something which I can put a face of a person behind it, thus means company and big corporation even if their wines are amazing, they don't attract me. I always loved the growers and family businesses.
I'll not pretend to say what I tasted are the best of the denomination, but that's my research which drives me this way, of course there will be other nice growers but unfortunately I' m not aware. So your (others) advice are welcome to this post.
Brunello taking shape
A bit of tips on Montalcino:
Montalcino rises 560m above sea level between the valleys of rivers Ombrone, river Asso and river Orcia. On a surface about 24,000 hectare which only 15% is occupied by vineyards. To the south, Mount Amiata (an inactive volcano) rising 1740m higher looks over and protects the Brunello territory, protecting the Brunello from atmospheric phenomena such as cloudbursts and hailstorms. There are different sub regions which aren't actually recognized but these make the terroir driven. So in the centre of the denomination there is the town of Montalcino which is the north part of the area, making wine with more finesse, elegance and acid structure going towards Torrenieri. Heading south east you will find the area of Castelnuovo dell'Abate. Here the soil is fatty and the climate is hotter. Their wine tends to be a little bit fattier with great structure. However the vineyards on top of the hills in this area are mitigated by the river Ocia and the nearby volcano Mount Amiata. So in this case the highest position in this part gives as well elegance and finesse. To the south center and south west we find a small number of towns with vineyards around, which makes their wine more masculine, more tannin and more structure. They are Santangelo in Colle, Sant Angelo Scalo and Camigliano. Here the vineyards overlooking the sea 40 km away and thus the sea breeze influences the wine, with mineral context and sapidity (perception of saltiness). In all the denomination the soil is very diverse, thus in common there is this Galestro soil which is a type of rock you can find in small and big sizes and are compact clay, loam and marl (compacted over centuries). the climate is typical mediterranean ensuring a gradual and full growth of the grape bunches.
Mount Amiata from Castelnuovo dell'Abate.

Galestro soil
Santangelo in Colle we visited Fonterenza winery. Owned by two sisters, we were welcomed by Francesca she was very kind, warm and friendly. We tasted some wine from the barrels, different vintages and i loved it. They reflect their personality are elegance, feminine and mineral.
Long maceration between stainless and wood and they age rigorously in italian big barrels. Leave the wine with some balsamic and spice tertiary integrate with the fruit profile.

Fonterenza wines.

 In Montalcino next door to the famous producer Biondi Santi there is this other small producer Pian Dell'Orino.  A couple from northern italy and germany working meticulously in biodynamic farming. Following step by step the holistic technique of the biodynamic philosophy. They experiment in the vineyard they prune they till plant by plant they choose the best by trying to have a dialogue with each vine plant. The vineyard architecture is in a circular shape for the harmony to allow mother nature to freely enter. Their Brunello are a type of burgundy style, very pinotesque color, sour red fruit intense galestro minerality.


Pian Dell'Orino wines
Castello Di Argiano in Sant'angelo Scalo I visited the Sesti family, an aristocratic english personality.   Elisa Sesti welcomed us and showed us their gem. More than 40 hectares but less than 10 hectares are dedicated to vines. To achieve a great bio diversity with different crops and to give a subliminal healthiness to the vines. Lunar faced and astrological philosophy influence the different range of wines. different capacity of barrels used for the production of Sangiovese. Sesti soil is rich of fossils and gives a very interesting mineral contact to their wine, a pure expression of Sangiovese.


@ SESTI winery


Mr Colleoni from Podere Sante Marie
A very small artisan in the centre of Montalcino. Here the attention of farming is one of ancient times where nature is left to do its own thing. He told us that a clean perfect swiss garden is not applied on his land, instead a wild view is his perfect garden. Colleoni vineyards are full of life! But they are not shaped as beautiness to the normal persons eye. His wines are eccentric but humble. Tasting from barrels of '11 to 2013 and he brought us through the degustation step by step, it was an outstanding experience to listen and absorb his words. An old fashion true olden time Brunello.
Climate, soil, exposition was the main topic.
Pinotesque, balsamic, length, spiciness and earthiness are the layer of this wine.


@ Colleoni Podere Sante Marie.






Comments

Post a Comment

A drinker

Chablis Climats and Lieux-dit

Image
Climat: from the Greek Klima via the Latin Cliamtis.  Precisely delimited plots of land which benefit from specific geological and climate conditions...  Lieux-dits a designated area of land with a historical particularity from a topographical point of view of an ancient story... These two terms in wine always as an interchange used; however, you can find several Lieux-dits within a single Climat... Chablis is a really good example of how these two concepts work together.   See the map above and you can see how many Lieux-Dit compose a climat, in this case, 1er Cru. For example Montmains 1er Cru, a famous block of vineyard on the left bank of the Serein river at the bottom holds two famous Lieux-dit called Forets and Butteaux; according to the INAO, this can be a label on his own or as Montmains 1er Cru.  Vaillons 1er Cru got several different names, those are: Sechet, Les Lys, Les Epinottes, Ronciers, Mellinots, Beugnons and Chatains....
Podcast

Brunello based on a map….

Image
Brunello di Montalcino is one of the most famous and prestigious italian wine. All Brunello di Montalcino wine is made exclusive from Sangiovese grapes grown on the slopes around Montalcino a classic Tuscan hilltop village 30 km south of Siena. The world Brunello translates roughly as "Little dark one", and is the local vernacular name for Sangiovese grosso, the large-berries form of Sangiovese which grows in the area. The climate in the production zone is Mediterranean. On the lower slopes the soil is clayey marl, higher up a combination of limestone and marl with some tufaceous volcanic stone. The best soil are "galestro albarese" clay with carbonate of lime and friable rock. The harvest go between the latter part of September and the middle of October. Subdistrict of the Brunello zone Brunello production zone can be divided into three district. The first district takes in the area north and to the east of the town of Montalcino, including the town of Tor...
Podcast

Cahors Simon Busser - Corbières Maziere Fabrice Monnin

Image
SIMON BUSSER from the village in Prayssac, in the AOC Cahors: Cahors is a small town in southwestern France, located 160km to the east of Bordeaux. The climate here is subject to multiple influences; from the Atlantic coast which bring a continental climate, and the Mediterranean from the south which gives a maritime influence. We can divide the AOC into two different terroirs the "Causses" based limestone plateau that produces more tannic, mineral lived wines. The other vineyards profile is the one that influenced by the river Lot with a more gravelly slope which makes more approachable wines on the fruity spectrum profile.  Cahors is home of Malbec, Bordeaux grapes mainly Merlot, and also a small amount of Tannat more present in the neighborhood Madiran AOC.  Simon Busser has been training with Olivier Cousin in the Loire. He returns to his village Prayssac and start to looking after his father’s vineyards. He works his small vineyard with a horse, as Cousin taugh...
Podcast