2016 La Ricolma, San Giusto a Rentennano, Tuscany, Italy
Critics reviews
Drink 2020-2048
Monica Larner, robertparker.com (Sep 2019)
About this WINE
San Giusto a Rentennano
The wine estate of San Giusto a Rentennano, a name of Etruscan origin, is located in the proximity of the the Arbia river in the southernmost corner of the Chianti Classico wine zone. The estate began life as a medieval monastery of Cistercian nuns and was called San Giusto alle Monache (“of the Nuns”).
The medieval estate of San Giusto a Rentennano came into the Martini di Cigala family through marriage in 1914. In 1957, it was inherited by Enrico Martini di Cigala and in 1992, by his nine children. Today Anna, Lucia, Elisabetta, Francesco, Alessandro and Luca are partners in the estate company.
Merlot
The most widely planted grape in Bordeaux and a grape that has been on a relentless expansion drive throughout the world in the last decade. Merlot is adaptable to most soils and is relatively simple to cultivate. It is a vigorous naturally high yielding grape that requires savage pruning - over-cropped Merlot-based wines are dilute and bland. It is also vital to pick at optimum ripeness as Merlot can quickly lose its varietal characteristics if harvested overripe.
In St.Emilion and Pomerol it withstands the moist clay rich soils far better than Cabernet grapes, and at it best produces opulently rich, plummy clarets with succulent fruitcake-like nuances. Le Pin, Pétrus and Clinet are examples of hedonistically rich Merlot wines at their very best. It also plays a key supporting role in filling out the middle palate of the Cabernet-dominated wines of the Médoc and Graves.
Merlot is now grown in virtually all wine growing countries and is particularly successful in California, Chile and Northern Italy.
Buying options
Add to wishlist
Description
It is my job to come up with words to describe a wine, but the 2016 La Ricolma left me speechless. 'Wow' is all I could say just after tasting it. The 2016 vintage has a greater sense of focus and precision compared to the 2015, which is happier and almost carefree by comparison. The 2016 vintage is buttoned up and tightly knit. The two vintages are tricky side by side, because both are stunning, but they show different kinds of beauty. It's like comparing the colorful, folkloric and somewhat haphazard landscape of Postiano (representing the 2015 vintage) to the linear, straight and well-engineered landscape of Manhattan (representing the 2016 vintage). In terms of scoring, I gave 98 points to the 2015 vintage, which gives me only so much room to express a preference for the 2016 vintage. This edition offers so much magic on so many levels. I get black fruit and even a touch of cheerfully sweet cherry juice, alongside more mature notes of black olive, spice, tar and road paving. This is a dense, rich and succulent wine with abundant beauty and depth. Black mineral and graphite notes appear as the wine takes on more air. It really is gorgeous. A mere 4,373 bottles, 300 magnums and 30 double magnums were made.
Drink 2020-2048
Monica Larner, robertparker.com (Sep 2019)
wine at a glance
Delivery and quality guarantee