To all Best Winers,
If you’ve ever met Valdicava owner/proprietor Vincenzo Abbruzzese then you know the guy takes his wine very seriously. From his basic Rosso di Montalcino all the way up to his 100 point-scoring Brunello from his famous Madonna del Piano vineyard, every grape is meticulously grown, every bottle meticulously crafted.
You can tell that the quality of his wines in conjunction with the truest representation of his terroir is paramount in his life. This guy eats, sleeps, drinks Montalcino, and you can taste it in the greatness of his wines. He is one of Montalcino’s finest producers, hands down.
Which makes the next part of this story all the more remarkable or, maybe not, considering the type of gent we’re dealing with.
In the hot, low-yielding 2011 harvest Vincenzo made a decision that his peers would cringe at the very thought of. After harvesting the meager amount of grapes from all of his estate vineyards and seeing the tiny bits and pieces from each vineyard he had in the cellar, he decided to produce only one wine from the 2011 harvest.
We know what you’re thinking. He probably just skipped making his $300 per bottle Madonna del Piano Brunello and opted instead to produce only his $125 regular Brunello. Hey, we could see that. A bold move for sure seen as he’d really be taking it in the shorts not making any of that delectable super-cuvée. Plus, there was probably sufficient quantities of his entry-level 2010 Rosso di Montalcino made to potentially placate the masses until 2012.
Nope. Not even close.
Instead, Vincenzo decided to produce no Brunello di Montalcino whatsoever from the 2011 harvest. What? You kidding me? NO Brunello from a vintage that is certainly Brunello level in quality? We’d never heard of such a thing. Insanity. Crazy. Pazzo.
So NO Brunello in 2011 means exactly what? Well, that “what” is what we’re proffering today. Vincenzo’s entire production of Brunello di Montalcino as well as his single vineyard Madonna del Piano wine went into his Rosso di Montalcino. The man bottled his entire production under his entry level wine.
Now, if this were some middling producer in Montalcino (of which there are many) this would still be a bold move that would send shockwaves throughout Tuscany. But for one of the regions’ greatest producers to do it? All we can say is, “Back the truck up!” because, as you may be able to surmise, the wine is insanely good.
In this bottle you get Vincenzo’s top Brunello and his Brunello normale, both of which sell for healthy triple digits, at a price reminiscent of something from his neighbors to the north in Chianti. It is one of the most insane wine values we’ve tasted in quite some time. You can feel the breeding, polish, density of fruit and noble structure of Vincenzo’s top vineyards in this wine, a Rosso di Montalcino in name only, but oh so much more than that in the bottle.
You need this perche:
- All of Valdicava’s $125 Brunello went into this $30 wine.
- All of Valdicava’s $300 Brunello Madonna del Piano went into this $30 wine.
- This wine is awesome and it’s only $30
- Pure Sangiovese goodness at its very best
- When it’s gone and you don’t have any you’ll be bitter.
- Check out our video here
Kyle Meyer and Tristen Beamon, Proprietors, BestWinesOnline.com
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