- Just Very Different from Tuscany
Gabriele Succi
- In the Vineyards - A True Master Winemaker
- Traditional Winemaking
- The Terroir Shines Through Like a Laser at Midnight
2014 GS
- The Naked Soul of Sangiovese
- The Aromatics, Flavors and Balance without the Weight
- The Ultimate Expression of a Unique Style
2016 Assiolo
- The Delicious Baby Brother
- Crazy Well Made and a Real Outlier at This Price ($19.99)
- Fresh Perfect Cherry Fruit
- Incredibly Gorgeous Cherry Flower Internal Aromatics
- Case Pricing Available
The reviews are in and those of you who ordered the first vintages of this wine are pretty happy and
These wines are very underpriced for two reasons. First, Emilia Romagna is incredibly overshadowed by its Tuscan neighbor (it doesn't even have its own page in the World Atlas of Wine). Second, Gabriele spends almost all his time in the vineyards and doesn't market much. So the wines are seriously underpriced.
OK, now to the story. For those of you unfamiliar with Italian geography, Emilia Romagna is due north of Tuscany. I'm coining the phrase, "Alta Toscana" to describe these wines. I love our Brunello producers but with higher global temperatures, Brunello producers have to be very careful about overripeness. So I really wanted to get some Emilia Romagna Sangiovese because it is a little cooler. Alas, it was easier said than done. Most of the wine was either over oaked or underripe. But then the meeting with Gabriele came up and all was right with the world. I've written before that there is a certain intelligence and focus that most great winemakers have. Gabriele has them both in spades. He studied crop sciences and took over his grandmother's land in 1995. The vineyard is surrounded by peach and apricot trees, and Gabriele knows and lovingly tends to every bunch on every vine in his vineyard ... and you can taste it. If you follow his Facebook page, he has more pictures of his vines than most parents have of their children. You can really taste it in the wines. The grapes are all picked at perfect levels of ripeness. The wines are truly stunning. Just textbook examples of incredible winemaking. Incredible balance and a bit more restrained than Brunello but they have incredible expression of Sangiovese. I was turned on to these by a sommelier in Bologna who has tried pretty much every wine in Emilia Romagna and thinks that these are by far the best. His wines are sold at two of the Michelin one star restaurants in Bologna as well as the sister restaurant of Osteria Francescana (of "Best Restaurant in the World" fame). Please check out the 6 Questions Feature we did with Gabreiele on the blog.
The first wine is his flagship wine. The 2014 Costa Archi GS can be had for $34.99 a bottle on a 4-pack. You know how when I introduced Martin Muellen and Weltner and Ziereisen and Enderle and Moll, for example, I said that they were great winemakers but also that had that extra special unique approach that almost made them artists? That their wines were unlike anything else? Well, this wine is in that class. Sangiovese is a somewhat maligned grape in the States, partially because the Chianti growers jammed so much plonk down our throats for so long. But in proper hands, it is one of the great grapes in the world. And Brunellos are one wonderful expression of Sangiovese. But the GS is another completely different expression much as Weltner and Muellen are both great, but different. If the average Brunello is a powerful Gevrey, Costa Archi is more along the Volnay lines stylistically (sorry to use the Burgundian analogues, but they are the most easily understood). This wine is just so perfectly well made. The palate is so wonderfully balanced. It has that incredible sweet plum fruit balanced by present but not obtrusive acidity. Just enough to give it freshness and the juiciness that I crave. Really, really, really nice Sangiovesse spiciness. The spice elements intermingle with wafting floral internal aromatics. The finish has just lovely aromatics of plum and spice. This is a wine that you can drink right now. And pretty much everyone I know (including me) can't keep their hands off these wines so that should not be an issue.
The GS is named in honor of Gabriele's father. The grapes are sourced from a single Sangiovese vineyard. The wine is aged 12 months in new and twice-used barriques, 12 more months in steel and then 10 more months in the bottle. While you can clearly see the effects of wood in the wine's structure, it is perfectly integrated.
The second wine is the 201 Costa Archi Assiolo can be had for $19.99 per bottle (on a 4 pack purchase) and $18.99 on a case purchase. Fass Listers have been going bonkers over the 2015 Assiolo. The Assiolo is the younger brother of the GS but a fantastic wine in its own right. It held its own against the best $30-$35 Rosso di Montalcinos at VinItaly, although the style is very different. The nose is classic Sangiovese, but on the elegant side. Lovely ripe first of season cherries on the nose. The palate is really super elegant. Awesome, awesome, awesome delicious cherry fruit. Lovely integrated acidity and a nice mineral spineThe internal aromatics are masterful, especially for a winea t this price point. Just the most gorgeous cherry flowers with . It's one of those wines that is just purely delicious joy but is so crazy well made that a wine geek will love it. It's inexpensive enough. The wine is 100% Sangiovese and is aged 12 months in twice- and three-times used tonneaux, then 5 more months in steel and then for 5 months in the bottle. If you like to drink red wine with food or have parties where you serve wine, this is definitely a candidate for a case purchase.
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