2001 Podere Salicutti Brunello di Montalcino Piaggione

Podere Salicutti is a 10-acre estate in Montalcino, Italy. Its owner Francesco Leanza is from Sicily and was a chemistry professor in Rome before starting Podere Salicutti in the 1990s. The vineyard was planted in 1994 and Leanza moved to the estate in 1997 and began making wine organically. The estate was the first in the area to make wines organically, and it is today known for its well-structured Brunellos. Wine Spectator has rated some vintages with scores in the high 90s.

Brunello di Montalcino is regarded as one of Italy’s best appellations. Located in south central Tuscany below Chianti, the wines of Brunello di Montalcino DOCG are made of a Sangiovese clone called “brunello,” which means “little dark one,” a reference to the brown tones in the skin of the grape. Unlike some Tuscan appellations that allow other grapes to be blended with Sangiovese, Brunello di Montalcino is entirely Sangiovese. Montalcino itself is a picturesque, hill-top town not especially well known for wine production until the mid-19th century, when a local vineyard owner isolated the brunello clone and planted it. Other growers followed suit. Nevertheless it wasn’t until 1970s that wine enthusiasts started paying attention to Brunello di Montalcino, which by then was becoming an outstanding wine. Today there are 120 estates in the DOCG, up from about 25 estates in 1975. Brunellos in general are bigger, darker, more tannic and more powerful wines than Chiantis or most other Sangioveses. By law they must be aged for four years, and two of those years must be in wooden barrels.