Tricerchi Rosso di Montalcino 2022

100% Sangiovese, declassified from two Brunello vineyards, Vigna del Piano and Vigna dei Cipressi. The Castello Tricerchi Rosso di Montalcino is a bright, intense ruby red color with cherry-red reflections. Complex aromas of forest berries, strawberry, cherry jam mingle with notes of plum and dried red flowers. The palate is balanced and intense, warm and soft, accessible and radiant, with a creamy texture and dense, elegant tannins. A long savory, minerally finish of ripe cherries and strawberries. A powerful but youthful Sangiovese.

The soils in Vigna del Piano and the Vigna dei Cipressi are a mixture of calcareous clay and sand. Yields are restrained and harvested by hand. Fermented in temperature-controlled steel tanks, with a cold soak before fermentation and about 30 days of maceration on the skins in total. Aged in Slavonian durmast casks for at least nine months, then refined in bottles for at least four months. 1800 cases produced.

The Castello di Tricerchi was built in the far north of the Brunello di Montalcino appellation in 1441, and is still owned by the the Squarcia family, who built it. The vines were planted in 1995, a little more than a century after the first commercial examples of Brunello were produced by the Biondi-Santi family. The vineyards surround the castle, and the winemaking is done in a former dungeon beneath it, where conditions are perfectly cold and humid.

Tommaso Squarcia, a young scion of the family, has made it his mission to perfect the wines of the Castello using completely traditional winemaking methods to allow the vineyards to fully express themselves. The wines are fermented with indigenous yeasts, macerated on the skins for longer than normal, and aged in large oak barrels. The estate converted to certified organic production in 2022. Total production is around 5000 cases a year.