VAL DI SUGA, ROSSO DI MONTALCINO

TUSCANY, ITALY 2016

When it comes to the U.S. wine business, there are producers, importers, wholesalers and retailers. Producers make the wines, importers work with select producers to bring the wines into to the U.S., wholesalers distribute the wines and retailers sell to consumers. From time to time we receive allocations from the one of the top importers in the U.S., Wilson Daniels. While Wilson Daniels may not be a household name outside of the industry, the wineries in their portfolio certainly are. You may have heard of Domaine Leflaive, Domaine de la Romanee-Conti, Biondi-Santi and Dal Forno Romano just to name a few. Wilson Daniels represents wines of serious quality and promise. So, when we came about an allocation to offer Brunello Icon Val di Suga from the Wilson Daniels portfolio, we knew we had to pass this along.

While Val di Suga is one of the oldest wineries in Montalcino, they are also one of the most unique and innovative. When many wineries have chosen to take a more “modern” approach to their winemaking (think big oak and ripe fruit), the team at Val di Suga holds to the belief that the future of Brunello is in a much more detailed and precise expression of the different terroirs of Montalcino. In fact, what makes Val di Suga so unique is that they are the only winery in Montalcino that has vineyards in 3 different crus – 3 “islands” with completely different soils and climate.

Vigna del Lago is to the north and comprised of clay soil, with a micro climate influenced by a lake. The wine here is lighter, reminiscent of Pinot Noir in terms of body and structure. On the nose, white strawberries and blood orange are at the forefront, expressing an elegant, perfumed style of Sangiovese.

Vigna Spuntali boasts a south-western exposure on the Mediterranean-side of Montalcino. The soils here are a raised ancient sea bed with sandy soils carrying fossils and seashells that are millions of years old. The sea influence here is undeniable. Planted to a higher density, the Sangiovese here is richer and riper in style, boasting a candied orange note and sweeter tannins. 

Poggio al Granchio, located on the south-eastern side of the hill, is all slate, giving the wines an incredible tannic structure with a gamey and meaty character – think Northern Rhone. The higher temperatures in day and lower temperatures at night give the wines here higher acidity with incredible ageability.

While we will be featuring these single-vineyard Brunellos at a later date, today’s offer is for the Rosso, bringing to the table another layer of complexity – the art of blending. 

Rosso di Montalcino, often referred to as a “baby Brunello,” is the wine made from the younger vines of what would eventually become Brunello. At Val di Suga, Operations Director (and winemaker), Andrea Lonardi takes the unique approach of blending wines from the 3 single vineyards to create an incredible wine that boasts the best characteristics of each vineyard. It is said that Rosso is the wine you drink while you age your Brunellos. Once you taste this, Val di Suga will be the only Rosso you want to drink while you age your Brunellos.  

And to make this possible, we are offering the 2016 Val di Suga Rosso di Montalcino by the 6-pack at the lowest price in the country. While we have a solid allocation, this offer is only good for 1 week. You’ll be hard pressed to find this level of quality anywhere near this price point. We suggest jumping all over this.