San Giusto a Rentennano Percarlo IGT 2020

Why is this Wine so Yummy?

Percarlo is made from 100% estate grown Sangiovese grapes, especially selected bunch per bunch, from the best zones of our vineyards, which have a low yield of 1 Kg grapes per vine. The grapes are usually matured to an extra degree of ripeness. Fermentation and maceration take place using natural yeasts in enameled concrete vats for as long as 35 days. Percarlo is aged in French oak barrels for 20-22 months and kept in bottled for another 18 months before being released. The grapes which go into the making of Percarlo are selected, bunch per bunch, from vineyards whose soil dates predominately to the Pliocene epoch. It is composed of layers of sand and stones which lie 2 to 5 meters deep and rest on beds of clay. The vineyards are situated at an average altitude of 270 meters above sea level. Notwithstanding the variations from year to year which occur in every wine faithful to its terroir, each vintage of Percarlo possesses constant characteristics which give it a precise, recognizeable identity. It is a wine with long ageing potential, a robust expression of the San Giusto a Rentennano terroir.

About San Giusto a Rentennano

San Giusto a Rentennano, originally a monastery fortified in 1204 by the Florentines as their boundary with Siena, today uses the underground vaults built as part of the fortification as their cellars. For centuries it was owned by the Ricasoli family of neighbouring Brolio, passing to the Martini di Cigala family in 1957. This beautiful 160 hectare estate, with 30 of vineyards, is run by brothers and sister team of Francesco, Luca and Elisabetta. The vineyards enjoy exceptional exposure with considerable day and night temperature differences and the terrain is composed of various soils rich in minerals.

San Giusto’s wines are renowned for their elegance, balancing rich fruit and beautiful aromatics with superb freshness. Chianti Classico shows great purity with bright red fruits and floral notes. Le Baroncole, a Riserva selection aged for 16-20 months in barrique, has dark cherry fruit, flowers, spice and liquorice. Percarlo, the estate’s flagship wine first made in 1983, is a selection of Sangiovese from across six cru vineyards that form the best expression of the terroir of San Giusto. Multi-layered with rich dark fruit supported by firm tannins and beautifully integrated oak, Percarlo is a powerful wine that cellars well for up to 20 years in the finest vintages. La Ricolma, one of world’s great Merlots, is typically silky with rich plummy fruit and a distinct stamp of ‘Tuscanness’.

Finally, Vin San Giusto is one of Tuscany’s finest Vin Santos. Made mostly from Malvasia with 10% Trebbiano, the grapes are dried on racks for approximately 140 days before being pressed into six small chestnut barrels for six years. Concentrated and complex with fig, toffee, salted caramel, prunes and spice, the palate goes on and on. This is one of Italy’s must try before you die wines, unfortunately our allocation is just 24 bottles.

In the Vineyard

The estate is comprised of 160 hectares, situated at an average altitude of 270 meters above sea level. 31 hectares are planted in vineyards, 11 in olive groves, 40 in woods, 78 in cultivated and grazing lands. The terrain is composed of various soils rich in different mineral components, sand, clay, lime, alkali, argil and calcium. The microclimate is characterized by considerable day and night temperature differences and often heat during harvest time. All the vineyards enjoy exceptionally favourable exposure. During the months of July and August, we thin-out the natural growth of grape bunches by 30-50%, a practice called “green harvesting ,” which encourages the full and perfect maturation of our grapes.

Our farming methods remain largely manual and exclusively organic certified.

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In the Winery

That first bit of kit in the pic’s below is a seriously expensive destemmer. Having one is sign that a winery is intent on working gently with the fruit and is prepared to spend coin to build divine mouthfeel and tannin profiles. You can see one in operation in this Wine Bites Mag article “Winemaking Excellence – Fruit Sorting & Destemming at Yabby Lake with Tom Carson”.

Harvest: from 26th to 29th September 2016

Yield per plant: kg. 1

Length of fermentation and maceration on the skins : 38 days

Wood-ageing: 22 months in French oak tonneaux (Allier, Nevers) of 500 litres and barrel of 3000 litres – new oak = 25% – Bottle ageing: 15 months

Bottled: from 2nd to 5th April 2019 – Production: n. 18.268 bottles of 750 ml; n. 1000 Magnum of 1500 ml; n. 180 Double Magnum of 3000 ml; n. 15 bottles of 5000 ml and n. 50 bottles of 6000 ml

Analysis: Alcohol: 15% Sugar: <1g/l Acidity: 6.35 g/l Volatile Acidity: 0.78 g/l Net extracts: 33.2 g/l pH: 3.33 Sulphur: less than 100 mg per liter as required by organic laws.

The 2020 & 2021 Vintages at San Giusto

Luca Martini di Cigala presented a superb set of wines. The 2020s are stellar. It was not an easy vintage, though. There is no Ricolma. An unexpected and sudden rise in volatile acidity required a level of intervention the estate did not want to undertake, so the 2020 was not bottled. In tasting, the 2020s are brilliant, with an unforgettable Percarlo leading the way. The 2021s, which I tasted from barrel, might turn out to be even better. “In 2020, we started to see some dehydration on the vine in well-draining sites, so we moved harvest up by five days,” Luca Martini di Cigala explained. “Our harvest took place from September 16 to October 6, whereas in 2021 we started on September 22 and finished on October 15.”

As always, most of the focus here is on the vineyards, while winemaking is decidedly minimalist. Fermentations are done in cement with indigenous yeasts, with the exception of Ricolma, which is now fermented using commercial yeasts, a measure taken to avoid a repeat of 2020, when the wine was inadvertently ruined. Malolactic fermentations are completed by the end of the year. The wines are then racked and moved into oak at the beginning of the following year. Most of the wines see 18-20 days on the skins, but that can grow to 35-40 for Percarlo. The Chianti Classico is aged in cask and/or neutral oak, while the Baroncole and Percarlo are aged in a mix of French oak and cask, while Ricolma is raised entirely in French oak.

Antonio Galloni, Vinous

Where in the World is San Giusto?

San Giusto is in the Gaiole within the Chianti Classico sub-region of Tuscany.