And 2016 Phenomena: the stars are aligned
When Giuseppe (Giugi) Sesti first came to Castello di Argiano, winemaking was the last thing on his mind. He wanted a retreat to raise a family, practise music, and write about astronomy. But he came to realise he was sitting on prime Montalcino vineyard land. It's a warm spot, where ripening will never be a problem, but the altitude of a hilltop site and cooling sea breezes bring freshness and energy to the grapes. Soils are ideal. And so Sesti Brunello was born.
Thirty years on, and Giugi's daughter Elisa has picked up the winemaking baton. There's always something new in Montalcino, says Elisa; she describes how they adapted their vineyard management to cope with the arid 2017 summer. They left more leaves on the canopies to shelter grapes, and changed their tilling routine to preserve moisture in the soil. Then nature stepped in, and blessed them with a couple of very localised rainfalls, leaving some neighbours green with envy. As Elisa sees it, 2017 is a Brunello vintage made by local microclimates and the winemaker's hand; the Sestis' 2017 succeeds magnificently.
We're also delighted to be offering the 2016 vintage of the Sesti's Brunello Riserva Phenomena. It is a complex and intense wine packed with red cherry and menthol notes, black tea (always a Brunello 'tell' for me) and cured meat. The Phenomena labels always evoke an astronomical event of the vintage, and this time it was a rare conjunction of Venus and Saturn while the sun was in Capricorn. I am no astronomer, but it is clear to me that for this wine, the stars were aligned. /NT
Offered subject to remaining unsold; for shipment late Autumn 2022
