Salicutti’s Impeccable Rosso, Brunello & Riserva!

Today we offer Salicutti’s 2013 Brunello & Riserva fro the Piaggione Single Vineyard in addition to the Rosso di Montalcino from the neighbouring parcels.

These are stunning Sangioveses.

Salicutti’s wines sit on the feminine, elegant, sophisticated end of the Brunello spectrum. Beautifully perfumed with great harmony and poise. Layers of flavours and fine tannins. They have such great purity.

All makes sense when you add the high elevation of the site.

With only 4 acres planted to vines and only 1/3 of that the ‘Piaggione’ vineyard used for Brunello and potentially Riserva, it rates as a tiny estate.

We have only 9 bottles of Brunello left & 24 bottles of Riserva. At a minimum, grab a bottle of the Rosso, a genuine ‘Baby Brunello’ to get your eye in on the producer.

Delivery of the Riserva is expected in July. The Brunello and Rossa will be in the warehouse next week.

About Salicutti

When we look at Burgundy we see a heavily defined vineyard classifications system. A large Grand Cru vineyard like Charmes-Chambertin is 28 hectares, Musigny about 12 hectares. By contrast, vineyards that can be classified Brunello di Montalcino cover a whopping 2,000 hectares of plantings. For the lover of Brunello the quality and consistency of the producer is a bigger minefield than picking through the exceptional, good and ugly of a vineyard like Charmes-Chambertin.

Salicutti has hit the mark as a producer of beautifully poised, classic Sangiovese. No super riper / raisened alcoholic monsters here.

Recently sold to ze Germans. It is run meticulously by Francesco Leanza, continuity is intact, who left his career as a chemical engineer in Rome to dedicate himself full-time to Podere Salicutti in 1995. Leanza originally purchased the property in 1990 and immediately began reviving the olive grove and renovating the building on the estate. A few years later, he set out to revive the vineyards, which he had begun replanting in 1994.

Vineyards

The entire Salicutti estate comprises 11 acres –just over four of which are planted to vines. Piaggione, the vineyard just below the winery, was originally planted in 1994 though part of it was replanted in 2012. It is used for Brunello – its soil is predominantly limestone and sand. Piaggione Alto is an extended part of the Piaggione hill that was planted in 2007 with guyot training – also used for Brunello. Sorgente, the vineyard above the winery, is used for the Rosso di Montalcino. ½ of Sorgente was planted in 1994 and ½ in 2001. The soil here is a mix of old and new soil – some stratified schist as well as some deep ocean deposit. Sorgente has more clay in it  than does Piaggione or Piaggione Alto. Finally the Teatro vineyard which is a .7 hectare parcel further up the hill from the other two – this was planted with massale selection Sangiovese in 1994. Organic viticulture is extremely important to Leanza, and all much of the vineyard work is done by hand with the use of machines kept to a minimum to preserve the life of the soils.  Leanza was the first producer in Montalcino to be certified organic. He believes that a vineyard must be treated like a beloved garden and that a vineyard will give better fruit if it is loved and well cared for.

Winemaking

At harvest, all the grapes are harvested by hand, and carefully sorted before being brought into the winery for fermentation which occurs in open top stainless steel and, of course, with natural yeast.  Macerations last for around three weeks. His Rosso di Montalcino is aged in 10HL tonneaux – 20% of which is new – it then goes into the bottle for at least six months before release. His Brunello is aged 3 years in wood. It starts in smaller oak – a combo of barrique and tonneaux – and then is transferred progressively into larger oak over the three years, eventually ending in 40HL botte.

Leanza makes only about 7-9,000 bottles of Brunello each year.  His style impeccably balances power and elegance, and the wines have almost a Burgundian sense of style and grace on the palate. He believes in showcasing the personality of each vintage in the wine, rather than over-working the vinifications to make more than nature gave. Given the tiny production, Salicutti’s wines are sought after, and for good reason, they have the stuffing to develop with age in the cellar though they have an elegance that makes them tempting to drink on release as well.

The 2013 & 2015 Brunello Vintage

The Style of the 2013 Brunellos

The 2013 Brunellos are far better balanced than the overrated 2011s, and they are deeper and more penetrating than the 2012s. Clearly, the 2013 Brunellos will leave those weaned on big, rich, tannic, high-pH wines scratching their heads, but those who prefer their Sangiovese restrained and refined will be grinning from ear to ear. Moreover, 2013 stands out because outstanding Brunellos were made all over the denomination’s (much too) large area under vine. While it is customary to expect the southern reaches of the production zone to fare better in cooler years such as 2013 and 2008 and the northern reaches to spring ahead of the pack in warmer vintages like 2007 and 2009, the growing season of 2013 yielded outstanding Brunellos from all of Montalcino’s quadrants as climatic differences between them were minimal.

The best 2013 Brunellos are sleek, refined wines with high acidity, well-integrated tannins and a cool-climate character. As the majority of these wines clock in between 13% and 14% alcohol, very few of them are marred by cooked fruit character or obvious alcoholic warmth – in contrast to such recent vintages as 2012 and 2011, in which many wines reached 15%. Although the best 2013 Brunellos will undoubtedly age well, the majority of them offer surprising early appeal, owing to their balance, ripe fruit and aromatic expressiveness, so you will not necessarily have to defer gratification if you purchase these wines. In fact, thanks to their freshness and gracefulness, the 2013s will prove very successful as restaurant by-the-glass pours as well as versatile at the dinner table.

The 2013 Riservas

By contrast, the best 2013 Riservas are classic, sleek wines with staying power, density and noteworthy persistence, not to mention elegance. In keeping with the 2013 classico Brunellos, these Riservas are not blockbuster, high-pH, soft Riservas but rather refined, vibrant wines that will age well. As a comparison, I’d say they’re more in the style of 1988 than 1985, more 2008 than 2004.

The 2015 Vintage

The 2015 Brunello’s are still at least 18 months from coming through the system. The Rosso di Montalcino are giving us a chance to get ahead of the curve just like tasting Langhe Neb’s from good producers in Barolo! Indications for both 2015 and 2016 are very good based on the Rosso’s. We’re seeing good depth and length with excellent balance. The Consortzio have rated the vintage with 5 stars … another vintage of the century … coughs! Cynic in me aside. What’s in the glass is looking good. You be the judge!

Where in the World is Salicutti?