The Somm Journal

46 { THE SOMM JOURNAL } OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2017 { steven spurrier's letter from london } ONE OF MY OLDEST FRIENDS rents a house every August on the Sesti Castello di Argiano estate to the south of the Brunello di Montalcino DOCG, and my wife and I join them for a week or so. There's a lot of cooking and drinking, but little wine tast - ing—especially with this year's temperatures of 40-plus degrees Celsius—but we did have three short, though very interesting, visits. TENUTE SILVIO NARDI This sprawling estate in the north of the DOCG near Buonconvento was revitalised by Silvio Nardi in the 1950s and is now organically farmed and managed by his daughter Emilia and her nephew Emanuele. I first et ilia about 20 years ao and immediately bought a case of her Vigneto Manachiara 1999, of which a few bottles remain in my cellar. A decade later, she introduced me to her other single vineyard, Vigneto Poggio Doria, and my visit was to compare four vintages of both—the former exposed to the east where the sun rises being full-bodied and powerful, and the latter exposed to the setting sun in the west being more elegant and complex. 2004 Poggio Doria (First vintage released as a single vineyard.) Firm red, lovely elegant nose and perfect balance, a really fine epression of anioese with orality settin it apart fro other Brunellos. To 2022. 94 Manachiara Both richer and younger, shows perfectly the rich and robust fruit from clay soils, powerful yet balanced, a seamless interation of fruit and tannins. To 202. 96 2012 Poggio Doria Good colour, still fresh and oral nose and a fine "feinine" profile despite the structure and depth, just open - in up. 2072. 93 Manachiara Dense young colour, all blac fruits, rich teture and broad, fir aours ery ood future. 200. 93 2010 Poggio Doria Young red, nose more robust than expected, rich and smooth on the palate with a hint of raisin-y grapes from lac of rain, but ood drinin to 202. 91 Manachiara Dense red, some maturity, fine nose, all of a piece and fine structure and energy, will develop very well and becoe eleantly robust. To 202. 95 KOBRAND TENUTA DI SESTA AND TENUTA DI COLLOSORBO The Nardi estates are split between Casale del Bosco—where the family house and winery is in the northeast corner of the Brunello DOCG, home to the Vigneto Poggio Doria—and the Manachiara holdings far to the west. For this reason, Emilia Nardi is not in faour of any reional classification of the Montalcino vineyards, as proposed in Kerin O'Keefe's excellent book Brunello di Montalcino (University of California Press). On the other hand, iuseppe aria esti, whose 2 hectares sit together below Sant'Angelo in Colle in the southwest of the DOCG, is much in favour, but he did point out to me that the O'Keefe book still has not been translated into Italian! Tenuta di Sesta and Tenuta di Collosorbo were part of the same large estate owned by the Ciacci faily since 0the first bottles bein produced in when there were only 2 estates bottling Brunello. In the last generation, the estate, situated between Sant'Angelo in Colle and Castelnuovo dell'Abate, was divided into two. It shares the castellated villa but has different cellars managed by two cousins, Francesca Ciacci and Laura Ciacci, who make quite different styles of wine. TENUTA DI SESTA Poggio d'Arna 2015 IGT Toscana A blend of Sangiovese, Cabernet Franc and erlot loely frarant nose, sooth and eleant with anioese rip. To 2020. 91 Rosso di Montalcino 2015 Fresh, lifted fruit, well made, not too extracted, very attractie. To 20. 90 Brunello di Montalcino 2012 Lovely frarant nose eleant yet uite rich, ery natural and ery pure fruit. To 2022. 93 Brunello di Montalcino 2011 Riserva Full colour, some maturity, rich and open, soe oa perfect balance and a charin wine of reat uality. To 202. 94 U.S. WINE IMPORT TENUTA DI COLLOSORBO Le Due Gemme 2015 Sant'Antimo Rosso 70 anioese, 0 Cabernet rancCabernet auinonerlot fine fruit, sooth aour and nice teture. To 20. 88 Sant'Antimo Rosso 2015 0 yrah 2 Cabernet auinon20 erlot etit erdot deeper, ore robust and as - culine. To 2020. 89 Lula 2014 IGT Toscana 0 anioese 0 Cabernet ranc and Cabernet auinon loely frarance fro the Sangiovese and black fruits from the Cabernets, spice and rich texture, oak blended in, ery well ade. To 2020. 90 Rosso di Montalcino 2015 Deep and robust with Brunello-like concentration and soe orality, an ecellent osso to rial any Brunellos. To 2022. 92 Brunello di Montalcino 2012 Deep red, smooth and rich, but a vanilla taste comes throuh in an odd ioa anner fine el - vety texture with some power, not typical but ood. To 2022. 92 Brunello di Montalcino 2011 Riserva Rich young colour, beautiful fragrance, richly tetured shows polish and lenth, perfectly balanced. To 202. 95 SKURNIK WINES Three Estates in Montalcino PHOTO COUTESY OF TENUTE SILVIO NARDI Tenute Silvio Nardi's Casale del Bosco estate.

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