2016 Brunello di Montalcino, Argiano, Tuscany, Italy
Critics reviews
Drink 2024 - 2034
Eric Guido, vinous.com (Nov 2020)
Drink 2021 - 2028
Walter Speller, jancisrobinson.com (Mar 2021)
Drink 2023 - 2040
Monica Larner, Wine Advocate (Dec 2020)
James Suckling, jamessuckling.com (Oct 2020)
Drink 2023 - 2035
Michaela Morris, Decanter.com (Mar 2021)
The 2016 Brunello has lifted aromas of confected raspberry fruit, crushed roses, cedar, and sweet liquorice. The palate opens with ripe red plum, cocoa, and dried herbs, with velvety tannins. The 2016 is an elegant wine with approachability and finesse. Argiano practices organic farming with a strong focus on sustainability and biodiversity both in the vineyard and in the cellar. Drink 2021-2031.
Audrey Frick, jebdunnuck.com (Apr 2021)
About this WINE
Argiano
Tenuta di Argiano was established in 1879 and since 1992 has been owned by Countess Noemi Marone Cinzano. The estate is now managed by Sebastiano Rosa, who learnt his trade in California, followed by stints at Lafite-Rothschild and Sassicaia. Winemaking guru Giacomo Tachis acts as a consultant.
The vineyards are superbly situated on the famous Montalcino hill on a south-facing limestone plateau nearly 1000ft above sea level. Yields are restricted through extensive crop-thinning in the summer and very careful fruit selection at harvest time. The grapes are hand harvested and then fermented, before being aged for 3 years in oak barrels.
This is new-wave Brunello: richer in fruit, riper, with smoother tannins, more elegant, more balanced and more accessible in its youth.
Brunello di Montalcino
Along with Chianti, Brunello di Montalcino is Tuscany's most famous DOCG and the region's boldest expression of Sangiovese. Located 30 miles south of Siena with the hilltop town of Montalcino as its epicentre, its 2,000 hectares of vines are naturally delimited by the Orcia, Asso and Ombrone valleys. Brunello is the local name for the Sangiovese Grosso clone from which Brunello di Montalcino should be made in purezza (ie 100 percent).
The Brunello di Montalcino DOCG has a whale-like shape: at its head, at 661 metres above sea level on ancient, stony galestro soils facing east and southeast lies the town of Montalcino, where the DOC was founded. As you follow the spine south towards the tail, the vineyards lose altitude – those around Colle Sant'Angelo are at 250 metres – while the soils become richer with iron and clay. Further east, in the shadow of the 1,734 metre Mont'Amiata lies the village of Castelnuovo dell'Abate where the vineyards are strewn with a rich mix of galestro, granitic, volcanic, clay and schist soil types.
Historically, the zone is one of Tuscany's youngest. First praised in 1550 by Leandro Alberti for the quality of its wines, it was Tenuta Il Greppo who bottled the inaugural Brunello di Montalcino in 1888. By 1929, the region had 925 hectares of vines and 1,243 hectares of mixed crops, while in 1932 it was decreed that only those wines made and bottled within the commune could be labelled as Brunello di Montalcino. Since then, the number of producers has risen from 11 in 1960 to 230 in 2006, while over the same period the vineyards have expanded from 1,000 hectares to 12,000. The region earned its DOC in 1966, and was upgraded to DOCG in 1980.
Brunello di Montalcino cannot be released for sale until five years after the harvest, or six years in the case of Brunello di Montalcino Riserva. During this time the wines should be aged for at least two years in oak, followed by at least four months in bottle (six months for Riservas); maximum yields are 55 hl/ha.
Rosso di Montalcino is declassified Brunello di Montalcino, released for sale 18 months after the harvest.
Recommended producers: Costanti, Fuligni, Lisini, San Giuseppe, Soldera, Cerbaiona
Sangiovese
A black grape widely grown in Central Italy and the main component of Chianti and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano as well as being the sole permitted grape for the famed Brunello di Montalcino.
It is a high yielding, late ripening grape that performs best on well-drained calcareous soils on south-facing hillsides. For years it was blighted by poor clonal selection and massive overcropping - however since the 1980s the quality of Sangiovese-based wines has rocketed upwards and they are now some of the most sought after in the world.
It produces wines with pronounced tannins and acidity, though not always with great depth of colour, and its character can vary from farmyard/leather nuances through to essence of red cherries and plums. In the 1960s the advent of Super Tuscans saw bottlings of 100% Sangiovese wines, as well as the introduction of Sangiovese/Cabernet Sauvignon blends, the most famous being Tignanello.
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Description
This 2016 Brunello has a beautifully expressive and complex nose of rose petals, cherries and Mediterranean herbs. The wine is incredibly light on its feet, with bright acidity and silky tannins complementing the palate – which offers cranberry, black cherry, liquorice, violets and a hint of ground coffee. I look forward to tasting this again once it has had some time in the cellar, which should bring those beautiful leather and chocolate notes that I love in aged Brunello. Drink 2024-2040+.
Paul Keating, Private Account Manager, Berry Bros. & Rudd (Aug 2021)
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