BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO
2017 Helichrysum San Polino
| Grapes | Sangiovese Grosso |
| Colour | Red |
| Origin | Italy, Tuscany |
| Other | Bio-dynamic, Certified Organic |
| District | Montalcino |
| Sub-district | Brunello di Montalcino |
| ABV | 14.5% |
Tart cherries, wild strawberries, sage and lifting hints of mint and camphor waft up from the 2017 Brunello di Montalcino Helichrysum. This is savory and mineral in nature, yet also velvety-smooth, ushering in a mix of red and black berries that slowly build tactile tension toward the close. Rounded tannins linger, as residual acids keep the expression unexpectedly fresh. This could use a short stay in the cellar to flesh out a bit, but the balance here is quite impressive. The Helichrysum hails from San Polino’s highest-elevation parcel, at 450 meters, where the soils are both clay-rich and volcanic in origin. It spends six months with bâtonnage in barriques, followed by three years in Slavonian oak. Rating: 92 Eric Guido, www.vinous.com (Mar 2022)
| 12 | ||
*Case price discount: Mix any 12 bottles of wine (or 9 litre equivalent) or 6 bottles of Champagne, Spirits, Sweet Wine or Fortified (4.5 litres) to get the discounted 'case price' for each bottle.
Lustrous mid ruby. Lifted, sweet cassis and cherry nose. Exotically fragrant perfumed fruit on the palate which builds up on the finish. Striking and certainly unusual and with cracking tannins. Needs time to settle. Drinking range: 2023 - 2032Walter Speller, www.jancisrobinson.com (Feb 2022)
Unique aromas of dried flowers and sandalwood with ripe black cherries. Breath-taking. It’s full bodied yet rather agile and weightless with fine dusty tannins that float across the palate. Wonderfully done for this difficult vintage. Gorgeous and delectable now. From organically grown grapes. Drink or hold. Rating: 96 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Jan 2022)
Tart cherries, wild strawberries, sage and lifting hints of mint and camphor waft up from the 2017 Brunello di Montalcino Helichrysum. This is savory and mineral in nature, yet also velvety-smooth, ushering in a mix of red and black berries that slowly build tactile tension toward the close. Rounded tannins linger, as residual acids keep the expression unexpectedly fresh. This could use a short stay in the cellar to flesh out a bit, but the balance here is quite impressive. The Helichrysum hails from San Polino’s highest-elevation parcel, at 450 meters, where the soils are both clay-rich and volcanic in origin. It spends six months with bâtonnage in barriques, followed by three years in Slavonian oak. Drinking range: 2024 - 2027 Rating: 92 Eric Guido, www.vinous.com (Dec 2021)
San Polino
Thirty years ago, Luigi Fabbro and Londoner Katia Nussbaum founded San Polino – Montalcino’s first certified organic estate - with 4 (now 5) hectares of vines and 16 of forest, 9km from the town to the south-east on the way to Castelnuovo. They now have another site on the other side, 5 hectares of vines bordering Fuligni and Padelletti.
Katia, daughter of Romanian-Jewish father and brought up in Putney, had always felt a fish out of water in London, and had met Luigi ('Gigi') from Friuli in Katmandhu in her gap year. Having completed her education at SOAS, she went to join him in Italy. Luigi, a trained chemist and former computer scientist, brought his experiences mapping the biodiversity of the Amazon rainforest to this corner of Tuscany, and the couple aim to 'create wines as complete reflections of the biodiversity of the terroir'.
Blessed with an extraordinary range of soil types across their land – from ancient sea beds to volcanic minerals - they are self-proclaimed extremists when it comes to organic farming, using microorganisms in place of sulphur and copper in the vineyard. Their own compost is made from the stalks and skins from the grapes, and grasses and beans are regularly planted to add nutrients to the soil and increase biodiversity. The wines undergo spontaneous fermentation from indigenous yeasts, and see a 45-day maceration on skins, before being pressed and raised in large Slavonian and French oak for three years. 5% of the oak is new, for a hint of spice.
The vineyards have been organic since 1994 and are also certified biodynamic. The philosophy of biodynamics, with its emphasis on harmony and balance, plus obsessive care in the winemaking, lends the wines a phenomenal amount of elegance and purity of fruit, with a finish that seems to go on forever.
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