SALICUTTI BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO PIAGGIONE 750ML 2020

The Salicutti 2020 Brunello di Montalcino Piaggione focuses mostly on red fruit flavors, and it shows elegant, chalky tannins with blue flower and crushed stone. There's a point of white peppercorn on the close. From compact, mineral-rich soils, this wine is all about smoothness and silkiness, and that's the very first impression it makes on the palate. It appears even silkier and finer the longer it stays in the glass.

The team at Salicutti describes 2020 as challenging. Besides pressure from powdery mildew, warm nights in September resulted in lower acidity and harvest was a race to avoid over-ripeness, but in the end the strict selection yielded an attractive and refined Piaggione bottling. Lifted to begin with, it leads with signature violet and lavender notes before soft, round fruit envelops the mouth. Minerals and bitter forest herbs underpin red berries, and tannins cling gracefully and meld seamlessly, building to a reliable frame. Despite a lusciousness, this remains light on its feet.

The 2020 Brunello di Montalcino Piaggione is drop-dead gorgeous, with a wonderfully fresh and lively bouquet of crushed strawberries and cherries elevated by hints of sweet Christmas spice, mint and rhubarb. Seductively round and supple, it flows across the palate with ease as juicy acidity enlivens its red and blue fruits. The 2020 doesn't miss a beat, leaving a spicy and tart sensation that keeps the mouth watering despite the edgy tannins. Already gorgeous today, the Piaggione will enjoy a long and broad drinking window.