Winemaker Notes
This wine is an intense and lively ruby red. The bouquet releases intense notes of sour cherries small red fruit, licorice and a mineral background of refined elegance. Right from the start, flavor is powerful with great concentration and releases a clear hint of red jam, closing in a finish with particularly persistent tannins.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Dark tarry berries, bay leaves, wax and nutmeg on the nose. Medium-to full-bodied with lots of chewy tannins on the mid-palate that gives a full wrap to the crunchy cherry and plums. Spicy and tight in the finish, but not grainy. Sangiovese. Drink now or hold.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
From a vintage that threw many challenges at vintners due to above average summer temperatures and a lack of moisture, the 2017 Torgiano Rosso Riserva Rubesco Vigna Monticchio keeps its cool proverbially speaking. Chiara Lungarotti tells me that with the pressures of climate change, maintaining acidity is the goal, and concerns about extract are no longer an issue. Sangiovese was harvested cluster by cluster to assure the best selection of fruit. Pump-overs were reduced to almost nothing during a delicate 26-day maceration period. The results show dark fruit and black cherry, with earthy sensations and cooked clay, but that tingle of acidity gives life to the palate. Best After 2023
Italian Red Wine
While picturesque hillsides, endless coastlines and a favorable climate serve to unify the grape-growing culture of this country. The apparent never-ending world of indigenous grape varieties gives Italy an unexampled charm and allure for its red wines. From the steep inclines of the Alps to the sprawling, warm, coastal plains of the south, red grape varieties thrive throughout.
The kings of Italy, wines like Barolo and Barbaresco (made of Nebbiolo), and Chianti and Brunello di Montalcino (made of Sangiovese), as well as Amarone (mostly Corvina), play center stage for the most lauded, collected and cellar-worthy reds. Less popular but entirely deserving of as much praise are the wines made from Aglianico, Sagrantino and Nerello Mascalese.
For those accustomed to drinking New World reds, the south is the place to start. Grapes like Negroamaro or Primitvo from Puglia and Nero d’Avola from Sicily make soft, ammicable, full-bodied, fruit-dominant wines. Curious palates should be on the lookout for Cannonau (Grenache), Lagrein, Teroldego, Ruché, Freisa, Cesanese, Schiopettino, Rossese and Gaglioppo to name a few.