Tuscany's Fanti estate once again makes it to our Wine of the Month #2 spot, this time with their captivating 2022 Rosso di Montalcino that's styled like an "everyday Brunello." It's a serious wine for the price, showing off Montalcino's powerful style of Sangiovese in spades! The Fanti family has owned their vineyards and olive groves in southeastern Montalcino since the 1800s, and started making their own wine in the 1970s to take their place in the burgeoning Brunello scene. They practice organic farming, and don't over-manipulate their vines or wines, making traditional representations of their land.
Their 2022 Rosso di Montalcino is a brooding wine, just like the Brunellos in this warmer, drier part of Montalcino tend to be, and its delicious character emerges gradually in the glass. Dark and vibrant tones swirl in a wine of bold contrasts. Vinous red-fruited aromas like crushed Marasca cherries and wild strawberries in alcohol, cooling sage/mint, warming blood orange and woodsy balsam, a grounding clay earthiness, and the classic Montalcino accent of floral, sweet-spiced licorice root that saturates the fruit on the finish (a marriage of aromas like Mediterranean lavender & thyme with a subtle oak barrel influence giving light hints of clove, vanilla, and a fragrant smokiness). The full-bodied mouthfeel combines a juicy, suave fruit texture with a rich coating of drying, velvet tannins that ground the finish in crisp fashion, though it leaves you with delicious, warming echoes of those herbal, spiced, floral and vinous fruit flavors. We suggest pouring early to allow this red's beauty to really unfurl in the glass. Best with rich, flavorful dishes like a slow-cooked ragú, roasts, braises, steaks, stews and aged cheeses.
JAMES SUCKLING 94 POINTS - "Vinous and fresh, with a kind of spring style. The nose gives violets, flowers and fresh raspberries enhanced by notes of blood oranges and cinnamon. Supple and silky on the palate, it shows weight, a medium to full body and firm, velvety tannins. It’s still youthful and fragrant, with crisp acidity and a savory, floral finish. Drinkable now, but best from the second half of 2025."
Their 2022 Rosso di Montalcino is a brooding wine, just like the Brunellos in this warmer, drier part of Montalcino tend to be, and its delicious character emerges gradually in the glass. Dark and vibrant tones swirl in a wine of bold contrasts. Vinous red-fruited aromas like crushed Marasca cherries and wild strawberries in alcohol, cooling sage/mint, warming blood orange and woodsy balsam, a grounding clay earthiness, and the classic Montalcino accent of floral, sweet-spiced licorice root that saturates the fruit on the finish (a marriage of aromas like Mediterranean lavender & thyme with a subtle oak barrel influence giving light hints of clove, vanilla, and a fragrant smokiness). The full-bodied mouthfeel combines a juicy, suave fruit texture with a rich coating of drying, velvet tannins that ground the finish in crisp fashion, though it leaves you with delicious, warming echoes of those herbal, spiced, floral and vinous fruit flavors. We suggest pouring early to allow this red's beauty to really unfurl in the glass. Best with rich, flavorful dishes like a slow-cooked ragú, roasts, braises, steaks, stews and aged cheeses.
JAMES SUCKLING 94 POINTS - "Vinous and fresh, with a kind of spring style. The nose gives violets, flowers and fresh raspberries enhanced by notes of blood oranges and cinnamon. Supple and silky on the palate, it shows weight, a medium to full body and firm, velvety tannins. It’s still youthful and fragrant, with crisp acidity and a savory, floral finish. Drinkable now, but best from the second half of 2025."
