Salicutti Piaggone Brunello di Montalcino DOCG 2016

Podere Salicutti is one of Montalcino's most revered small estates — a biodynamic producer of fierce conviction, farming just a handful of hectares on the northern slopes of the hill with an almost philosophical commitment to the land. Founded by Francesco Leanza, who left a career in architecture to pursue winemaking, Salicutti has become a cult name among Brunello enthusiasts who prize its wines for their purity, precision, and the unmistakable stamp of their terroir. The Piaggone is Salicutti's single-vineyard Brunello — named for the specific parcel from which it is sourced, and representing the pinnacle of the estate's range.

The 2016 Salicutti Piaggone Brunello di Montalcino DOCG is from one of the most celebrated vintages in the appellation's recent history — a year of near-perfect growing conditions that produced wines of extraordinary concentration, balance, and longevity. A 100% Sangiovese Grosso from the estate's north-facing Piaggone vineyard, aged for over two years in large Slavonian oak casks, the wine arrives with a complexity and depth that is breathtaking. Garnet with a translucent clarity, the nose is hauntingly beautiful: dried cherry, wild rose, iron, and mineral earth layered with tobacco, dried herbs, and a saline, almost coastal freshness that is the signature of this extraordinary site. On the palate, the wine is precise and commanding, with firm, fine-grained tannins, electric acidity, and a finish of extraordinary length and mineral purity.

The Salicutti Piaggone Brunello di Montalcino 2016 is a collector's wine of the highest order — magnificent alongside roasted lamb, aged Pecorino, or white truffle preparations, and built to evolve and reward patience in the cellar for two decades or more.