2019 Percarlo, San Giusto a Rentennano, Tuscany, Italy

One of the most celebrated expression of Sangiovese on the market today is the San Giusto a Rentennano 2019 Percarlo. This organic wine has a hint of extra ripeness or richness that transcends the bouquet. You feel as if you can bite into the fruit, and indeed the 2019 vintage is recognized by its unique power and density with a 15% alcohol content). It's a lot to take in, and there is enough lasting fiber and fruit power to fuel a long drinking window. This is one of the bigger and more opulent editions of Percarlo I have tasted.

Drink 2024 - 2045

The 2019 Percarlo is a wine of reserve. There's terrific purity to the fruit and fine tannins for the year, but also a bit of firmness that needs time to resolve. Bright red-toned fruit, cedar, tobacco, licorice, blood orange and spice open nicely to play off those vibrant tannins. I imagine the 2019 will need a number of years to be at its best. The 2019 spent 22 months in a combination of 30HL casks and 500L in tonneau. Production is down about 25%.

Once again, Luca Martini di Cigala presented a strong set of wines. The 2019 vintage was not easy. A severe hailstorm on July 13 damaged the canopy in the Sangioveses and pushed back harvest by about ten days. Things were even more difficult for the Merlot. Because of its earlier cycle, Merlot was more exposed and hail damaged the berries, not just the canopies. As a result, yields for the Ricolma are down 50%. Some wines, notably the Baròncole, show a slightly rough quality to the tannins. 

The 2020s I tasted point to a strong year. "We had one very hot week in the middle of September that accelerated our harvest. It felt like the grapes might dehydrate on the vine, " Martini di Cigala told me. "That was followed by heavy rain and cold weather." The 2020s are marked by luscious fruit and terrific depth. Sadly, though, there will be no Ricolma because of a technical issue that arose in fermentation. I am sure it is incredibly hard to lose a wine like that after an entire year of work, but then again, these are wines made with an uncompromising commitment to values of sustainable farming and artisan winemaking, so these things can happen.

Drink 2027 - 2049