Sesti Rosso di Montalcino 2018
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Parker
Robert
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Winemaker Notes
Everything the Sesti family produces punches above its weight. This is the result of Giuseppe and his daughter Elisa’s experience and also their selection of high-quality fruit for all of their bottlings. Their Rosso di Montalcino, for example, consists of Sangiovese that would qualify for their Brunello di Montalcino. Additionally, they’ve farmed it with organic and biodynamic methods and aged it in massive oak botti. In other words, the grapes are treated with the utmost care and respect from vine to bottle, and it shows in this extremely classy and charming rosso.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Sesti is the brand that is linked to the stunning Castello di Argiano property. After a growing season that saw plenty of sunshine and rain on these hills near Monte Amiata, the 2018 Rosso di Montalcino is defined by oak spice and scorched earth. You'll find primary fruit down deep, along with cherry and dried raspberry. But those spicy tones do take center stage even in this entry-level submission. The wine ends with a bright touch of acidity, enough to cut through a fatty lamb chop. About 12,800 bottles were made, roughly half of which were exported to the United States.
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While helping out at neighboring estates Giugi observed that simplicity and careful attention were the most important factors in producing great wines, while chemical intervention skewed their delicate balance; so he determined to make entirely natural wines right from the start. He even took a pioneering extra step by applying his prodigious knowledge of the moon’s influence on living things to his vineyard management and winemaking. Today the family continues this thoroughly eco-friendly philosophy (although no official certification currently meets their personal standards), and Elisa’s primary concern is the materia prima, or raw material, that goes into the wine. The Sesti lineup includes a white Sauvignon and a Sangiovese Rosato born directly of necessity, since the family wanted something light and cooling to drink under the hot summer sun; they were forced to increase production when visiting friends and clients tried these wines and started placing orders. But their basic trio—the Brunello, Brunello Riserva “Phenomena,” and Rosso di Montalcino—provides traditional expressions of the appellation, robust and powerful yet refreshing, with great aging potential in the Brunellos.
Among Italy's elite red grape varieties, Sangiovese has the perfect intersection of bright red fruit and savory earthiness and is responsible for the best red wines of Tuscany. While it is best known as the chief component of Chianti, it is also the main grape in Vino Nobile di Montepulciano and reaches the height of its power and intensity in the complex, long-lived Brunello di Montalcino. Somm Secret—Sangiovese doubles under the alias, Nielluccio, on the French island of Corsica where it produces distinctly floral and refreshing reds and rosés.
Famous for its bold, layered and long-lived red, Brunello di Montalcino, the town of Montalcino is about 70 miles south of Florence, and has a warmer and drier climate than that of its neighbor, Chianti. The Sangiovese grape is king here, as it is in Chianti, but Montalcino has its own clone called Brunello.
The Brunello vineyards of Montalcino blanket the rolling hills surrounding the village and fan out at various elevations, creating the potential for Brunello wines expressing different styles. From the valleys, where deeper deposits of clay are found, come wines typically bolder, more concentrated and rich in opulent black fruit. The hillside vineyards produce wines more concentrated in red fruits and floral aromas; these sites reach up to over 1,600 feet and have shallow soils of rocks and shale.
Brunello di Montalcino by law must be aged a minimum of four years, including two years in barrel before realease and once released, typically needs more time in bottle for its drinking potential to be fully reached. The good news is that Montalcino makes a “baby brother” version. The wines called Rosso di Montalcino are often made from younger vines, aged for about a year before release, offer extraordinary values and are ready to drink young.