2020 Le Ragnaie, Brunello di Montalcino DOCG, Casa Montosoli, Tuscany, Italy.
The lightness and delicacy in this beautiful and nuanced Le Ragnaie Casa Montosoli Brunello di Montalcino, is a shock as much as a surprise, this is not what you’d expect from an elite top cru Brunello and is more like a fine Burgundy in style, it is a wine the is an intellectual exercise, rather than what was not me by my own expectations. This 2020 Casa Montosoli, which shines in the glass with a glimmering garnet hue, delivers a velvety and elegant palate with an integrated layering of blackberry, plum, red currant, strawberry and fig fruits, as well as spicy tobacco leaf, incense, minty herb, mineral tones, dusty loam, cedary wood, orange tea and anise notes. There’s no doubt this is a different animal than the richer and more powerful, more normal, Brunello wines of this legendary region, but after time in the glass there’s a lot to admire here in this medium bodied effort and the full depth of its complexity comes through. This is a wine that challenges you will need your full attention and focus, with a meal of good pairings, to full reward those that have this Le Ragnaie. For , after the 2020 Casa Montosoli Brunello di Montalcino, the Le Ragnaie winery did a natural and traditional crafting of this wine and matured it in the big casks for 36 months, after which it stayed in the cellar until the 5 years from harvest passed before release as required by law. This bottling is quite rare and expressive, so I would hope, those that buy it would have a grasp of its style before dropping their money here, though I fully recommend the basic Brunello here at Le Ragnaie.
I must admit, this was a tough one for me, I had long been a fan of Le Ragnaie’s classic Brunello di Montalcino bottling and the Rosso di Montalcino or Troncne, as they call it, but I have not tried the top crus here, so while really excited to do so, it wasn’t what I thought it would be. There’s nothing flawed here or disappointing, just that it was such an interesting and unique wine and not in my own comfort zone, when it comes to Brunello, but ultimately it was a very rewarding tasting. Le Ragnaie spans about 28 hectares and is planted exclusively to Sangiovese Grosso, Brunello clone, and olive trees in the heart of the municipality of Montalcino, in the province of Siena, with northern zone, higher elevation and classic limestone and mineral rich clay soils. There is many different micro terroirs that are expressed here at Le Ragnaie, with all organic farming practices and transparent winemaking employed to really show off the estate’s sense of place. The owner and winemaker, Riccardo Campinoti, acquired the property in 2002 and has made a name for himself for the quality and elegance in his wines, especially with his cool toned highest elevation sites in the region. All the wines are fanatically and carefully sorted for the best clusters and grapes and sees a long 90 day, but gentle maceration and fermentation in concrete before racking to large Slavonian oak botti for aging, which highlights their purity of form, as seen here. The Le Ragnaie vineyard and winery also offers up a fabulous place to stay in one of Tuscany’s most famous regions and I would be seriously considering a stay here if visiting the area.
($200 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive