Argiano kicks off the spectacular 2013 Brunello vintage
Argiano is many people's touchstone Brunello. Tucked away in the far south-western limits of Brunello production, away from the main clusters of estates, the late Renaissance hilltop villa of Argiano looks down on its vineyards. Monte Amiata hulks nearby. It's a spectacular site, with a long history of winemaking - there have been vineyards on this hill for at least 500 years. It's a site well-suited to winemaking. High altitude brings cool summer evenings, so even in hot, dry vintages the vines enjoy cool summer evenings and an extended ripening cycle.
And 2013, while a good vintage in Tuscany as a whole, is considered exceptional in Montalcino - certainly the best since the great 2010. A cool start laid the ground for an underlying freshness in the wine, then was followed by a picture-perfect summer and an October harvest - an ideal Montalcino cycle.
It's not only Brunello they make here. In 1992 the then owner, Countess Noemi Marone Cinzano, began working with the man known as the father of the SuperTuscans, Giacomo Tachis. This collaboration resulted in Solengo ('lone wild boar' in dialect), a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot, Merlot and Sangiovese. Now the estate flourishes under the ownership of Andres Esteves from Brazil who has given almost unlimited funds and the mission of becoming top estate in Montalcino to his talented staff. An early fruit of this ambition is the 2015 Solengo, arguably the best it has ever produced. It is a wine that perfectly epitomises the inspired marriage of French varieties and Tuscan terroir that is the definition of SuperTuscan. /NT
Offered subject to confirmation; available autumn 2018
