2018 Rosso di Montalcino

It’s not often that you run across a Montalcino producer with a large piece of their back vintage library dedicated to Rosso di Montalcino, but that’s exactly what you’ll find at Le Potazzine. Vintages 2010, 2017, 2018 and 2019 were all pulled to taste, and they did not disappoint. These wines exemplify how the Rosso category holds tremendous value from the region's top producers. It’s important to note that the Rosso comes from Le Potazzine’s Brunello vines. It goes through spontaneous fermentation followed by ten months in a large oak cask. Gigliola Giannetti and her daughters are very proud of this wine, as they should be.

Le Potazzine is no longer on the way up; they’ve already arrived. This traditional winery, located just southeast of the town of Montalcino, saw its first vintage in 1997, yet the family’s winemaking roots go back much farther. Giuseppe Gorelli spent 15 years as an enologist at the Consorzio del Brunello, working alongside Giulio Gambelli, as well as 11 years at his family’s estate, Due Portine, before starting Le Potazzine with his wife Gigliola. Today, Gigliola runs the estate with her two daughters, Sonia and Viola. Their fruit comes from the perfect blending of two vineyards: Le Prata, in Montalcino proper, which brings the structure and finesse, and La Torre, in Sant’Angelo in Colle, which supplies the spice and power. Although only recently certified, this family has farmed organically since the beginning, and it follows a true-to-tradition regimen in the cellar, using native yeasts and aging in 30- to 50-hectoliter Slavonian oak.