- 93 points -
August 2015A voluptuous red with plenty of plums, flowers and light vanilla character on the nose and palate. Full-bodied, soft and round. Very modern, pure and delicious sangiovese. Drink or hold.
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ARGIANO
Suolo
2012
Country
Italy
Regulated designation
Indicazione geographica tipica (IGT)
Region
Tuscany
Appellation
Toscana
Varietal(s)
Sangiovese
100 %
Colour
Red
Sugar
Dry
Producer's website
About this winery
Argiano is a beautiful estate in the southern western portion of the Brunello di Montalcino DOCG. The estate has a long history of excellence in the region and is reaching new heights under new ownership. The 120 ha property follows the traditional Tuscan model of mixed land use featuring vineyards, olive groves and woodlands. A majestic Renaissance villa is also housed on the property making this one of the loveliest visits in the region. Argiano produces brilliant examples of Brunello and...
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Tasting notes
The “creator” of this superb wine is Hans Vinding-Diers, who produced for the first time Suolo in the year of 2000. This wine bears without any doubt his remarkable imprint. Suolo originates from 100% Sangiovese grapes issued from two single vineyard plots from the estate. One of them being “Vignoni”, our oldest vineyard being well over 40 years old (one of the oldest in the area) and “Oliviera”, one of our younger ones, being over 15 years old. The original reason for this selection was to study the difference between very old vines and newer ones. Suolo, Italian name for “soil” is a tribute to the vine’s host which gives it its great complexity.
Press reviews
- 92 points -
Anthony Gismondi, March 2017The Suolo ‘cru’ comes off one of the oldest estates in Montalcino. Originally the creation of Bordeaux-trained winemaker Hans Vinding-Diers, ‘Suolo’ translates as soil. Moving forward in 2014 and especially 2015, Suolo is to become the purest expression of Argiano’s soil under its new ‘less is more,’ consultant, Alberto Antonini. The 100 percent sangiovese grosso is a mix of fruit from the Vignoni vineyard (1966) the oldest vines at Argiano, and from Oliviera (1989), one of Argiano’s younger sites. The pair face south/southwest at 300 metres altitude, and are on a mix of clay, schist, calcareous and limestone soils. At veraison the yield is reduced to four to five bunches per plant. The grapes are hand harvested and a large proportion of whole berries forces a slow and gradual start to fermentation. Post ferment, Suolo is aged in 600 litre tonneaux for 16 months, followed by one year in the bottle before release. In 2013 the style is rich and powerful with smoky, plum and black cherry, vanilla, coffee aromas that open to floral, earthy, black cherry, peppery orange, licorice/coffee balsamic flavours. Napa goes to Italy. Certainly this needs time and will not be ready to drink before 2020. If you must, make sure meat is on the menu, or a well-aged hard cheese.
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