Wine Advisor
Argiano, Brunello di Montalcino Vigna del Suolo 2019
View analysis
Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: James Suckling
Plenty of dark-fruit notes of black cherries, brambles and dried herbs, followed by dried-meat and sweet-tobacco undertones. Medium-bodied with crunchy, fine-grained tannins and vigorous acidity. Very precise and dense, yet beautifully balanced and piquant. Great aging potential. Try after 2027.
Reviewed by: Monica Larner
The Argiano 2019 Brunello di Montalcino Vigna del Suolo has an elegant, ever-changing bouquet with black fruits and a pronounced mineral signature of dusty slate and crushed stone. With 63-year-old vines, this site is located along the picturesque, cypress-lined dirt road that leads to this imposing castello (one of the greatest architectural works in Italian wine). The bouquet fleshes out to show tobacco leaf, linden tree, balsam herb, exotic spice and an especially fresh quality of berry fruit that sits somewhere on the cusp of over-ripeness. The fruit tastes sweet but in a delicately measured way, and the tannins are elegant with dryness that is not overdone. This is a very pretty wine (with only 5,000 bottles made).
About the Producer
Argiano Winery is located on the hills of the Orcia Valley, at an altitude of more than 300 meters. The headquarters of the winery was established between 1581 and 1596 by Baldassare Peruzzi. It has changed hands several times over the centuries, from one noble family to another. At the end of the 19th century, the Gaetani family began to take over the winery. The winery has been managed by Countess Noemi Marone Cinzano since 1992 and is now run by a Brazilian consortium. Oenologist Giacomo Tachis served as a consultant. Argiano Winery's vineyard covers 118.6 acres (about 48 hectares), and the soil in the garden is composed of marl limestone and some clay. Since the vineyards face south, there is plenty of sunlight at noon and good ventilation. The grape varieties grown in the garden are Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah. The average age of the vines is 12 years and the planting density is 5,000-7,000 plants/ha. All grapes are harvested by hand and transported to the cellar in small boxes, avoiding crushing during transportation. In terms of winemaking, Argiano Winery uses traditional methods to brew the wine in stainless steel vats with controlled temperature. The maceration period of the grapes is 15 days. During fermentation, the temperature is strictly controlled between 28°C and 30°C. After the malolactic fermentation is complete, it goes through several passes to remove the heavy lees, then the wine is transferred to the cellar where it is aged in small French oak barrels and traditional large oak barrels. Finally, the wine is transferred to stainless steel vats for bottling, and it is also passed through the wine before bottling, but it is not filtered. All wines are bottled at the same time each year to ensure the consistency of each bottle.
