Rosso di Montalcino DOC 2024

The Rosso di Montalcino DOC 2024 is Le Chiuse's pale, lively wine: 13% alcohol, no barrique, a floral, herb-scented signature rather than concentration.

The vines grow in Località Valdicava, on the north-eastern flank of Montosoli, north of Montalcino. The seven hectares of pure Sangiovese are spread across two levels: a lower terrace at around 300 metres and an upper one at nearly 500 metres above sea level, high enough for temperatures to drop even on hot August nights. The soil consists of galestro schist, calcareous marl and clay, with a core of volcanic tuff at its centre. These sites have carried the Italian organic certification since 2005.

Sangiovese Grosso from a massal selection of the clone that Ferruccio Biondi Santi selected on these slopes 120 years ago; the Rosso is made from the younger vines on the estate's plots. Spontaneous fermentation with native yeasts, maceration at around 29 degrees, followed by about 13 months in large botti of Slavonian oak. The cellar works by gravity, without pumps.

On the nose, wild cherry and blackcurrant lead into violet and flower-scented earth, with a hint of smoke and crushed limestone behind. The palate opens juicy and taut, red berry fruit carries through to the finish, where a saline edge and a firm, short tannin remain.

Tagliatelle al ragù toscano and Coniglio alle olive, rabbit with olives. With cheese, Pecorino stagionato.

Le Chiuse has belonged to the same family since 1790; in 1993 Simonetta Valiani bottled her first own Brunello, and today her son Lorenzo Magnelli runs the cellar. Yields are kept to around 50 hectolitres per hectare, half of what the consortium permits.