2013 Pietranera Brunello Di Montalcino
2013 Pietranera Brunello Di Montalcino This 2013 opens with subtle plum, tobacco and baking-spice aromas. The straightforward palate offers black cherry, clove and a hint of star anise alongside taut tannins. Drink after 2022.
Tenuta Friggiali – Pietranera
Agricola Centolani is a world-famous wine estate located in the heart of Montalcino, one of the most evocative villages in legendary Tuscany. Brunello di Montalcino, one of the world’s top wines, grows here in the Siena area, amid Valle d’Arbia’s stark landscape and Valle d’Orcia’s wild, sunny stretches. The Peluso Centolani family owns the homonymous company and possesses two major wine estates in Montalcino: Tenuta Friggiali, with cellars and offices, and Tenuta Pietranera, whose vineyards, olive groves, arable land and woods cover approximately 200 hectares.
Sangiovese
Sangiovese (or Nielluccio in Corsica), a dark-berried vine, is the most widely planted grape variety in Italy. Virtually synonymous with the red wines of Tuscany, and all the romanticism that goes with the territory, Sangiovese is the core constituent in some of the great names in Italian wine. Italy’s love affair with Sangiovese – and indeed the world’s – is generations old, though recent grapevine research suggests the variety is not as ancient as once thought. At the dawn of the 21st Century, Sangiovese equated to roughly one in every 10 vines on the Italian peninsula.
The quality of Sangiovese wine can be notoriously variable. But, in the 1980s, drastically improved winemaking techniques saw a significant shift toward more quality-oriented releases. Sangiovese has numerous clones and is consequently known by many synonyms in its native Italy. Good-quality Sangiovese is prized for its high acid, firm tannins and balanced nature. Savory flavors of dark cherries and black stonefruit are characteristic, and may be backed by secondary notes of tomato leaf and dried herbs. The use of oak has become more popular and this coaxes richer flavors from the grapes, tending toward plum and wild raspberry.