Price: $89.99
6+ Price: $74.99 / btl
Christopher Deas, Italian Wine Merchants: "I know everyone is focused on the ripe 2015s, but this get me excited about 2018, just as the Valdicava Rosso did. This is a true, grand cru-like Baby Brunello from the cult producer Salvioni and prized vineyards at La Cerbaiola. Just two casks are produced in select vintages, and it is a rarity that overdelivers. What we appreciate best about the wine is the approachability. Like the older sibling Brunello, it has a nose that simply grabs you by the nostrils and pulls you in. The purity and concentration of fruit is simply awesome and that is the benefit of the lesser aging, as there is freshness with elegance. Red fruit galore, red cherries, wild berries, crushed flowers, herbs and exotic spices. The finish does lets you know we are in Montalcino with drying tannins making their presence known. Hard not to drink this bottle quick, it is that delicious."
Salvioni Description
Collectors with a predilection for Brunello will no doubt maintain very similar lists of coveted producers, differing mainly with respect to order. Many, however, will demonstrate agreement with respect to the top three: Soldera will likely start things off, and positions two and three will be filled by Biondi-Santi and Salvioni, occupying second and third, respectively, or the reverse, depending on the collector's preferred stylistic objective. Whatever Salvioni's rank, it enjoys the undisputed top spot in the cult Brunello genre.
It stands to reason that Salvioni would follow Soldera. When Giulio Salvioni commenced production in 1985 at his La Cerbaiola estate, he did so with Attilio Pagli at his side. Pagli's career commenced at Soldera, where he mentored under esteemed consultant Giulio Gambelli. Some discern a likeness between the style of the two houses, marked by a seemingly inexplicable juxtaposition of concentration and finesse. This is understandable, as both Salvioni
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