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Bottle of Le Chiuse Rosso di Montalcino 2022-Red Wine-Flatiron SF

Le Chiuse Rosso di Montalcino 2022

Red Wine from Tuscany, Italy
by Le Chiuse
$42.99
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Le Chiuse's Rosso di Montalcino and Biondi-Santi’s famed Brunello di Montalcino Riserva — what could they possibly have in common, besides geographical proximity?

Actually, a lot. Up until the early ‘90s, the estate now known as Le Chiuse was the source of the fruit used in Biondi-Santi’s Riserva bottling (a single bottle of which will set you back $600 or so, for a current release). It was in 1993 that Simonetta Valiani decided to start making wine for herself and stop providing grapes to her uncle, Franco Biondi-Santi. She, her husband Nicòlo and their son Lorenzo tend the fields and the cellar with the same attention to detail her great-grandfather Ferruccio Biondi-Santi lavished upon the estate.

Most Rossos come from fruit that’s not quite right for Brunello production. They might be young grapes, or from less-than-perfect terroir. Not so with Le Chiuse’s — the vines range between 60 and 70 years old, and the wine is made just like the Brunello, albeit with earlier drinking in mind, so it's aged less both in barrel and in bottle before release.

The farming is organic, and the wines are 100% Sangiovese Grosso, the clone of Sangiovese isolated by the Biondi-Santi family and considered by many to be superior to Sangiovese's other variations. Most importantly, the wine is downright delicious, and so indicative of its place.

Le Chiuse has a perfect pedigree. Their vineyards were key Biondi-Santi holdings since before Ferruccio Biondi-Santi created Brunello di Montalcino. In fact, when Simonetta Valiani (Ferrucio’s great-granddaughter) inherited the land, the vines were rented to her uncle who put the fruit in Biondi-Santi’s Riserva.

Even the fruit has pedigree. It's not just any old Sangiovese Grosso (Brunello’s special and mandatory clone of Sangiovese), but a special clone that Tancredi Biondi-Santi selected for the site (BS 11, if you want the details). And what a site: hillside land between 1,000 and 1,600 feet asl, with complex, rocky soils (lots of marine fossils) separated by clay striations.

Simonetta and family (her son, Lorenzo Magnelli, is the winemaker now) farm this terroir organically. They are even certified. The winemaking is traditional, as you would expect. They harvest by hand, ferment on indigenous yeasts, and age in large Slovenian oak casks.

Professional Reviews

Antonio Galloni

AG 91
"Wonderfully pure and lifted, the 2022 Rosso di Montalcino opens with a beautiful cascade of rose petals, sage and wild strawberries. It's soft and round with vibrantly ripe wild berry fruits and sweet spices that ride a wave of juicy acidity. This leaves a primary staining of concentration. The mouth waters for more, tapering off crisp with a cherry-berry tinge." -Eric Guido

Robert Parker

RP 92
"Made with certified organic fruit, the Le Chiuse 2022 Rosso di Montalcino is a charming Sangiovese that is frank and transparent but manages plenty of basic fruit elegance as well. The bouquet doles out cherry, grilled watermelon and navel orange. It's all very fresh and pretty in a most genuine and simple manner. The 2022 vintage shows special intensity. Production is 13,300 bottles." -Monica Larner

Decanter

D 92
"Sourced from three north-facing vineyards in the northern [Montalcino] zone for a crisper, fresher style, Le Chiuse’s Rosso is an excellent expression of the warm, dry 2022 vintage. This is focused, crisp and defined, with black olive tapenade, bright red and black cherry fruit, emerging liquorice character and a suggestion of Tuscan maquis. The land for Le Chiuse originally belonged to Biondi-Santi and was reputedly the source for its top Riservas. No hurry to drink this exemplary Rosso. Organic."

Details

  • Grape Variety

    Sangiovese

  • Vintage

    2022

  • Size

    750ml

  • Farming Practice

    Organic

  • Style

    Earthy , Fruity , Spicy

  • Sweetness

    Dry

  • Body

    Medium Bodied