Salicutti

Salicutti is without question one of the leading estates in Montalcino. The wines have always boasted extraordinary purity of fruit. Today's wines are brilliant, precise and crystalline in their beauty, starting with a Rosso that is among the very best, to the Brunellos, which are full of personality. Then again, Salicutti is in a very privileged spot in Montalcino, adjacent to Brunelli's Podernovone property.

Pretty much all of the emphasis is on farming, but it has to be the way, as the cellar is cramped to the point that there is only room for the bare necessities and a person or two. That's it. The Brunellos spend a year or so in 5HL and 10HL French oak casks and finish their aging in larger 20HL and 40HL casks, again mostly French oak, with Slavonian oak only for the largest casks. Readers who have not checked in on Salicutti in a few years owe it to themselves to do so. The wines are superb. ANTONIO GALLONI