As Beautiful an Expression of Sangiovese and Brunello - Just Very Different
Gabriele Succi
- In the Vineyards So Much, It's Unclear if He Owns a House
- A True Master Winemaker
If There is a More Perfect Sangiovese Than the GS 12/13, I've Not Had It
- The Naked Soul of Sangiovese
- The Aromatics, Flavors and Balance without the Weight
- The Ultimate Expression of a Unique Style
Assiolo 2015
- The Delicious Baby Brother
- A Remarkable Wine in Its Own Right with Stunning Elegance
OK, first thing before you read this is I need you to forget about the prices. These wines are 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. Perhaps more so than any wine in the portfolio. I'd gladly pay $60+ for the GS.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 of the great winemakers have. Gabriele has them both in spades. He studied crop sciences and took over the family winery in 1995. Gabriele knows 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).
The first wine is the Costa Archi Assiolo 2015 for $19.99 per bottle (on a 4 pack purchase) and $17.99 on a case purchase. You are all going to go bonkers over the GS, so I'm starting with this so you'll read it. 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 strawberries and black currants on the nose. The palate is really super elegant. Plummy with lovely integrated acidity and a nice mineral spine. It's one of those wines that is just purely delicious joy but has enough going on 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.
And now for the main event. The Costa Archi GS 2012/2013 for $29.99 (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 elegant. My tasting note on the nose is a simple word: "Perfect." While with Brunello, we tend to focus on the palate, because they tend towards muscularity, the GS is just aromatically beautiful and shows that Sangiovese is actually capable of reaching these heights. Strawberries, black currant, some floral elements, spice. They all exist and intermingle but take turns at the front as the wine aerates, sort of like an ensemble piece in a Verdi opera. The palate is so wonderfully balanced. It has that incredible sweet fruit balanced by present but not obtrusive acidity. Just enough to give it freshness and the juiciness that I crave. Some great spice elements with wafting floral internal aromatics. The finish has just lovely aromatics of cherry and strawberry.
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 2012 is right in its drinking window now. The 2013 is drinking well but is still a year or 2 young. I think that the 2013 has a bit more stuffing for ageing 5-10 years. I only have 60 bottles of the 12 and will have to allocate. Honestly, I would do a mixed purchase. The 12 to see what the GS is like at its peak and the 13 to drink over time. You should try a 13 young just because the acidity now is so present it's like biting into a juicy peach that jumps out and blasts the inside of your mouth. The freshness is simply incredible.
2015 Costa Archi Assiolo - $19.99 ($71.96 4-pack)
2012/2013 Costa Archi GS - $32.99 ($119.96 4-pack)
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