Podere Salicutti Brunello di Montalcino Piaggione 2003

"Salicutti's 2003 Brunello di Montalcino Piaggione is simply gorgeous. Delicate, perfumed aromatics emerge from the glass, followed by suggestions of sweet red cherries, tobacco, smoke and underbrush. Medium in body, the wine possesses superb length and finessed tannins, in an understated style that relies more on finesse than sheer power. The use of oak is subtle and masterful. The Piaggione was fermented in stainless steel, where it subsequently underwent malolactic fermentation. The wine was then racked into 5-hectoliter French oak barrels, then 10-hectoliter Slavonian oak casks and finally a 40-hectoliter Slavonian oak cask. In 2003 the wine spent two years in oak as opposed to the standard three years as proprietor Francesco Leanza thought the warm vintage had yielded a wine that was best bottled sooner rather than later. That certainly looks like a wise decision as the Piaggione is without a doubt one of the vintage’s high points. Anticipated maturity: 2008-2018. "

93 Points

The Wine Advocate

"Full, bright red. Highly expressive nose offers dried flowers, spices, tobacco and cedary oak, plus a note of smoky reduction. Silky and seamless, with an insidious sweetness to its aromatic flavors. Not a wine of great power or thrust but very elegantly styled and satisfying. Relies more on its edge of acidity than on its smooth, fine-grained tannins for structure. Lovely wine. "

92 Points

International Wine Cellar