Brunello di Montalcino DOCG 2017
VINOUS | ERIC GUIDO – 92 POINTS
The 2017 Brunello di Montalcino is incredibly exotic in both spice and floral tones, and an intense wave of cherry and raspberry preserves mixes with hints of tangerine and cocoa that pull you close. This is so deep and freshly yet energetic in feel, boasting a core of bright acidity that enlivens the experience and motivates the tart wild berries, zesty citrus and inner rose tones. Light tannins linger, yet the 2017 remains juicy and fun, delivering gobs of immediate pleasure through lasting notes of red currant, licorice and clove. Sadly, there will be no Vigna del Suolo from 2017, as all that juice was added to bolster the Brunello. Even so, production was down 35%.
JAMES SUCKLING – 94 POINTS
Very attractive floral and fresh aromas to the plums and cherries, following through to the palate. Flavorful and gorgeous, yet lively and focused. Lovely 2017. Drink now or hold.
GARDINI NOTES.COM – 96 POINTS
South-West of the Montalcino hill, a great classic of finesse and elegance. Marasca cherry on the nose, then officinal notes of laurel, with a crisp finish, on the notes of orange peel. The mouthfeel is dense and thick, the tannins savoury-salty, with a fruity-officinal return.
DECANTER – 88 POINTS
Argiano’s vineyards are located on a high plateau in Montalcino’s warm southwest. CEO Bernardino Sani credits changes like lower density plantings, soil revitalisation and organic cultivation for reducing the impact of drought in 2017. The Brunello is dripping with ripe prickly pear, plum and some macerated berries but misses some of its finessed subtleties. Soft acidity has been preserved and gives buoyancy to round, luscious fruit. The tannins are easy – though a touch green – and the finish is brisk. Will give pleasure in the short-term. Drinking Window 2022 – 2025.
ROBERT PARKER WINE ADVOCATE | MONICA LARNER – 93
The Argiano 2017 Brunello di Montalcino is a wine of considerable bandwidth with lots ofdark fruit, rich plum and spice. It carries medium fruit weight and concentration that proves more than enough to surround and soften the spicy oak notes and toast that also play an important role in this hot-vintage Brunello. The results are plump and slightly round, but you also get the acidity and the tannic structure of an age-worthy Sangiovese. Organically farmed fruit is selected from across the best parcels of the estate, and some of the vines are up to 55 years old. Production is 130,000 bottles, and I would recommend setting this bottle aside for near- to medium-term drinking. Drink date 2023 – 2038.
Brunello di Montalcino Riserva DOCG 2016
VINOUS | ERIC GUIDO – 95 PUNTI
The 2016 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva captivates with a rich, intoxicating bouquet that mixes deep black cherry-berry with plum sauce, balsam herbs, chalk dust and hints of camphor. It fleshes out across the palate, a staining primary fruits and spices seeming to coat al that it touches in youthful concentration. Zesty acidity creates a refreshing balance in spite of the grippy tannins that settle in towards the close. The result is a wine of poise, structure, but also remarkable length and energy, as tart currants and salty minerals mingle – and somehow, leave the mouth watering for more. Bravo! Argiano totally knocked it down with their 2016 Riserva, which is a vineyard election of fruit, refined for two years in 1500-liter Garbellotto casks.
JAMES SUCKLING – 94 POINTS
Don’t let the light color bother you. There’s linear tightness and reserve to this with an almost nebbiolo sensibility. It’s tannic and fine-grained with lots of intensity and power. Medium-bodied with muscular and formed tannin structure. Attractive fruit and a tight, reserved finish with chewiness. Cedar, mushroom and berry at the end. Try after 2024.
DECANTER – 94 POINTS
Argiano’s winemaker, Bernardino Sani waited until mid-October to harvest in 2016, benefiting from the slow ripening provided by the cool autumn nights. While the Riserva is dense and layered, freshness is preserved. Munificent aromas and flavours of sun-baked stone, Mediterranean herbs, dark red cherry and tobacco speak of the south. Suave tannins are seductively textured. Juicy on the mid-palate, it explodes with sweet spice and berries on the finish. The Riserva is a tiny vineyard selection of less than 2,000 bottles. It is aged in a combination of 1,000-litre and 600-litre barrels. Drinking Window 2022 – 2032.
ROBERT PARKER WINE ADVOCATE | MONICA LARNER – 95
The Argiano 2016 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva is rich and generous with lots of dark cherry, blackberry and plum. The wine presents an enhanced savory side with spice, Spanish cedar and a hint of smoked rosemary. This classic vintage is known for its balance, showing both elegance and power. This bottle from Argiano is a great example of precisely that. The finish is long and savory with smoke and earthy tones. A mere 1,290 bottles were produced, and sadly, the Riserva is not exported to the United States market. – Drink Date2024 – 2042.
Solengo IGT 2019
GARDININOTES.COM – 99
JAMES SUCKLING – 96
This is very structured and linear with currants, blackberries, dried citrus, chocolate and some smokiness. It’s fullbodied, but very tight and structured. Flavorful finish. Try after 2024.
WINES CRITIC – 98
VINOUS | ERIC GUIDO – 96
The 2019 Solengo seduces with its richly decadent display of vanilla and mocha-tinged dark fruits and spices, which are wonderfully lifted by minty herbal tones and white smoke. This enters the palate like weighted velvet, smooth and fleshy at first, yet lively, as mineral-tinged black currants mix with fine-grained tannins, clamping down with youthful poise. Like the proverbial iron fist in a velvet glove, this tapers off incredibly long and staining, with echoes of licorice beneath an air of cedar and tobacco; yet somehow, through it all, the palate is left watering for more. It will be many years before the 2019 is ready to show its best, but it will certainly be worth the wait. The Solengo is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Sangiovese that spends eighteen months refining in a combination of 60% new to 40% second-pass barriques.
ROBERT PARKER WINE ADVOCATE | MONICA LARNER – 95
Opening to a thick, blackish appearance, the Argiano 2019 Solengo is definitely more concentrated and tightly stitched together next to the 2018 edition. This is a supersized blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Petit Verdot, 20% Merlot and 5% Sangiovese that reveals the extra concentration of the vintage, and the important use of new and used French oak (for 18 months of aging), to create a texturally important and aromatically intense expression. The vines are planted in alluvial soils rich in sand and calcareous marl at 280 to 310 meters in elevation. The grapes are farmed organically and are relatively young, at up to 22 years of age. Plummy fruit and ripe blackberry segues to spice, tar and tobacco. This 2019 vintage shows better tannin management compared to the more astringent 2018 edition. Some 34,000 bottles (heavy glass bottles) were released – Drink Date 2024 – 2042.
DOCTOR WINE – 95
ROSSO DI MONTALCINO DOC 2019
LUCA GARDINI – 95+
Anche nel Rosso di casa Argiano tutta la croccantezza e sapidità della materia prima. Sangiovese al 100%, naso di piccoli frutti rossi, lampone e ribes, poi alloro e tocchi balsamici, di macchia mediterranea, con bella iodatura finale, la bocca è tesa e densa, i tannini salmastri, il ritorno fruttato-officinale.
Also in the Red of Argiano we find all the crunchiness and sapidity of the raw material. Sangiovese pure 100%, the nose reveals scents of small red fruits, raspberry and red currant, then laurel and balsamic hints, from Mediterranean scrub, closing of iodized hints. The sip is taut and dense, the tannins savoury, the aftertaste fruity-officinal.
WINES CRITIC – 92
Fresco e vibrante al palato mostra note di ciliegie, amarene, succo di mirtilli e fiori di limone. Corpo medio, succoso e centrato offre armonia ed equilibrio ed una bellezza nel sorso di pochi eletti. Bevi ora o invecchia.
DECANTER – 89
Mostly from alluvial soil in the southern part of the appellation, Argiano’s Rosso has plenty of freshness. Cold soaked prior to the fermentation for enhanced colour and aromatics, it is than spontaneously fermented in temperaturecontrolled stainless-steel tanks, with 10 days of maceration on the skins. The Sangiovese for this Rosso ‘was specially selected for fruit and freshness,’ explain Bernardino Sani, CEO and winemaker of the estate. The 2019 is restrained, showing elegant cherry fruit and firm tannins on a crunchy palate. It has good ripeness overall and the typical intensity of a toasty, smoky character.
Drinking Window 2021 – 2023
VINOUS | ERIC GUIDO – 90
The 2019 Rosso di Montalcino boasts an herbal-tinged black cherry and balsamic spiced bouquet. Rich, dark textural waves of woodland berries and minerals wash across the palate, leaving a coating of grippy young tannin in their wake, along with a sizzling of residual acids. While quite tense, this leaves the mouth watering for more, finishing with a persistent flourish of red fruit and minerals.
ROBERT PARKER WINE ADVOCATE | MONICA LARNER – 91
The Argiano 2019 Rosso di Montalcino shows the slightly darker color and richer concentration that is characteristic of wines from this vintage. The pretty Rosso offers good depth and width, qualities obviously rendered to the palate, with rich blackberry and dark cherry flavors. On the intensity continuum that sees Rosso on one side and Brunello on the other, this wine actually clocks in closer to the Brunello side of the spectrum. That makes this an especially interesting wine for those looking for Sangiovese power at an attractive value price tag. The wine ages in French oak casks for a few quick months. Production is 51,000 bottles. Drink date 2022 – 2025.
NON CONFUNDITOR TOSCANA IGT 2019
LUCA GARDINI – 94+
Come ribattezzato dallo stesso staff di Argiano, un ‘baby Supertuscan’, uno dei blend più entusiasmanti della nuova ondata toscana. Cabernet Sauvignon dominante, al 50%, poi Sangiovese 25%, Merlot 20%, Petit Verdot 5%, naso di visciole sotto spirito, peonia, tocchi di sottobosco al naso, la bocca è altrettanto intensa, densa, fruttata, con tannini sapidi e ritorno delle sensazioni balsamiche.
As the Argiano’s crew use to say, a ‘baby Supertuscan’, one of the most exciting blend of the new Tuscan wave. Cabernet Sauvignon in a leading role, at 50%, then Sangiovese 25%, Merlot 20%, Petit Verdot 5%, sour cherries under spirit, peony, hints of undergrowth at the nose, the mouthfeel is also intense, dense, fruity, with brackish tannins and a balsamic scent that reappears in the aftertaste.
JAMES SUCKLING – 93
Dark berries with walnuts, hazelnuts and white pepper on the nose, following through to a full body with ultra-fine tannins and a chewy yet refined finish.
Needs two or three years to come together. Drink after 2023.
GAMBERO ROSSO – 2 BICCHIERI
WINE SPECTATOR – 92 POINTS AND VALUE PICK OF THE WEEK
Vibrant yet silty, boasting black cherry, blackberry, violet and iron flavors. The iron first emerges by way of the firm tannins, and this finishes with a long aftertaste pf fruit and dried herbs. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Sangiovese. Drink now through 2030.
ROBERT PARKER WINE ADVOCATE | MONICA LARNER – 89
A blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 10% Sangiovese, the Argiano 2019 Non Confunditur (with 100,000 bottles released) is a terrific value proposition with lots of freshness and easy aromas of dark cherry, blackberry, baked clay, some black olive and grilled rosemary. The wine goes down easily with a soft approach to the palate and medium-rich concentration. This food-friendly Tuscan red is aged in neutral oak, and it would make a great partner to grilled sausage and onions. Drink date 2022 – 2024.
NON CONFUNDITOR TOSCANA IGT 2020
JAMES SUCKLING – 92
Blackberry with some asphalt and black-cherry aromas follow through to a medium body with firm, polished tannins and a crisp and clean finish. Cabernet sauvignon, syrah, merlot and a splash of sangiovese. Drink or hold.