Podere Salicutti
Podere Salicutti Brunello di Montalcino Piaggione
DOCG Brunello di Montalcino
Sangiovese
15
Biodynamic
Tasting Notes
Iron fist in the velvet glove… packed with complexity, cherry, tobacco, roses, and mineral, yet smooth tannins undermine the ageworthy potential of this Brunello. A rising star in the region.
Cultivation
Manual harvest from east-by-southeast facing slopes with fossil-rich limestone soils located between 420 to 450 meters in elevation.
Vinification
Spontaneous fermentation with autochthonous yeast and in stainless steel vats, automatic temperature control system via water circulation. 12-21 days maceration. Spontaneous malolactic fermentation.
Aging
Aged 33 months in the wooden barrel. Young wine is aged in 130 gallons tonneaux barrels, then progressively transferred to barrels of 260, 520, 780 and finally 1,040 gallons. Before going on sale, it ages another 15 months in the bottle. The tonneaux and small barrels are made of French oak, the 1,040 gallons barrels of Slavonian oak.
Podere Salicutti was founded by Francesco Leanza, and then transitioned with the utmost care to Felix and Sabine Eichbauer who carry on the tradition of winemaking with humility, maturity, and conviction. As the first organically certified estate in Montalcino with vines dating back to 1994, Salicutti prides itself on wines that showcase the uninhibited brilliance of its terroir.
In the Tuscany region of Italy, a pleasant hour-and-a-half drive south from Florence, the three Salicutti vineyards extend out from the original farmhouse (which also serves as winery, cellar, and lodging) and offer up some of the most carefully cultivated Sangiovese in the region. With manual tending of the vines and soil during the spring months followed by a meticulous harvest, each cluster is hand-picked at its ideal ripeness.
The 11-hectare property includes 4.5 hectares of vines with Sangiovese that grow on three adjoining plots. Each different cru is named to symbolically represent that specific site's attributes. Teatro — a Roman theatre, Sorgente — a garden in springtime, and Piaggione — a steep hillside. Each of the vineyards is oriented somewhere between southwest and southeast, sitting at 420-500 meters in elevation, and with a hilly character. The vineyards receive optimal sunshine with the grapes shielded from the cool northern winds, yet still receiving aeration allowing a continual ripening without fear of disease.
At just 35 kilometers from the sea the climate remains mild and balanced, and the soil (created roughly 60 to 80 million years ago as sediment from igneous rock that accumulated on the sea and lake beds) is comprised of sedimentary rock made of clay, sandstone, and calcareous sand, known as “marne.” These calcareous soils offer an ideal foundation for the challenges posed by Sangiovese.
“The land preceded us; it now nourishes our vines, and it will be here when we are gone,” Sabine and Felix Eichbauer affirm — a mantra that encapsulates their respect for nature, including their dedication to biodiversity at the winery. A focus on fostering typicity and the fullest expression of Podere Salicutti’s strengths results in uniquely beautiful and complex wines that never fail to delight.