Wine Advisor
Stella di Campalto, Brunello di Montalcino 2007
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2007 Brunello di Montalcino is ripe, flashy and seductive. It shows lovely juiciness and fleshiness to match its generous personality. It is only with the passage of time that the wine's structure begins to emerge. Ripe red fruits, rose petals, spices and licorice wrap around the subtle yet engaging finish. Anticipated maturity: 2015-2027. Stella di Campalto. The accidental winemaker. By now the story is pretty well-known: Campalto is given an estate by her father-in-law to help her pursue a passion for making olive oil. She decides to plant some vineyards with the help of the late Giuseppe Bianchini, the owner of Ciacci Piccolomini d'Aragona, and gradually begins making wine. Gianfranco Soldera and Piero Palmucci are her early points of reference. Not bad. Campalto's early wines show a winemaker with immense natural talent and vision. Just a few years later Campalto stakes a place for herself as one of the most promising young producers in Montalcino. Things are quite simple at the winery. The vines are farmed according to biodynamic principles. The winery is equally stripped down, with just the barest of essentials occupying space in the uncluttered, almost stark cellar. Tasting through the various lots and parcels from cask is always instructive and illuminating as the wines shed light on one of the most fascinating estates in Montalcino today. Readers who want to learn more about Stella di Campalto may want to take a look at my video interview posted on www.erobertparker.com Importer: Polaner Selections, Mt. Kisco, NY; tel. (914) 244-0404
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2007 Brunello di Montalcino is another totally unique, compelling wine from Stella di Campalto. Deceptively medium in body, the 2007 is deeply layered to the core. Sweet tobacco, dried cherries, menthol, autumn leaves and wild flowers take shape in the glass. This is an especially floral, lifted savory Brunello built on elegance and textural finesse. Once again, the style is intimate and personal and full of character.
About the Producer
Stella di Campalto is small-scale Tuscan wine producer situated close to the hilltop town of Montalcino. The estate specializes in producing Brunello di Montalcino, Rosso di Montalcino and Sant'Antimo wines from its selection of small "cru" vineyards. The 13 hectare (32 acre) estate was founded by the di Campalto family in 1992 after they acquired the San Giuseppe Winery that had fallen out of use some 50 years previously. Today, Stella di Campalto comprises six vineyards planted over approximately 6ha (15 acres) of land, with the remainder of the estate occupied by olive groves and woodlands. In the winery, each vineyard parcel is fermented separately in order to retain the unique qualities of each plot. A gravity flow system has been installed in the cellar to preseve phenolics whilst moving juice and wine. Once fermentation is complete, the wines are aged in small oak barrels, barriques or tonneaux. Stella di Campalto typically ages its Rosso di Montalcino wine in barrel for approximately 22 months, followed by bottle aging for anywhere between 5 and 21 months. The estate's single Brunello di Montalcino wine, on the other hand, will spend an average of 42 months in barrel before being aged in bottle for between 9 and 26 months, depending on the vintage.
