Salvioni Brunello di Montalcino 1997
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Robert
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Wine Spectator
Great wine, with licorice, blackberry and meaty aromas. Full-bodied, huge yet balanced, with amazing concentration and complexity. Subtle yet outlandish, it goes on and on. Best after 2003. 630 cases made. — JS
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
This 25-acre estate has fashioned a concentrated, dense, serious 1997 Brunello di Montalcino that justifies the hysterical praise this vintage has received. With a deep ruby/purple color as well as a sweet nose of black fruits, sage, lavender, leather, and minerals, this full-bodied, authoritatively powerful, concentrated Brunello is generous, compelling, and sensuous (a word I rarely use to describe Brunello di Montalcino). Cellaring is required for this big Italian red.
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Robert
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The vineyard, situated in the Commune of Montalcino at about 400 meters above sea level spans only 3 hectares. The soil is a mix of schist and clay marl. The plants are grown traditionally with the Cordone Speronato (Trellising) method and produce 42 quintals per hectares of grapes annually. Giulio Salvioni has managed to craft a true Brunello di Montalcino that is well integrated and balanced. Individualism and personal care have made this wine a bit of a cult player for the finest grained Brunello made.
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.