“Grinning ear to ear”: The Epic 2013 Campogiovanni Brunello di Montalcino
Posted on: 06/27/18 12:01 PM
2013 is shaping up to be a legendary year in Brunello, alongside modern classics like 2001, 2006 and 2010. The critics have been gushing. But, uncharacteristically, the wines are not “blockbusters.” There is no soul crushing intensity, power and bombastic fruit. No. Rather, this is a vintage that has everyone crowing and yet the catchword is finesse and the expression is elegant.
This is unusual. But precisely a vintage to take advantage of, because the wines will be drinkable during an earlier drinking window, and yet age equally as well as their more punishing counterparts. And San Felice’s Campogiovanni is one of the best wines to take advantage of in any vintage.
A store favorite, I am sure your appetite will be as rapacious as it always is with this wine. And at one of the best prices out there, you really have no choice!
2013 San Felice Campogiovanni Brunello di Montalcino
94 pts. “Dark berry and bark aromas with hints of dark chocolate. Full body, soft and silky with juicy fruit and a savory finish. I love the mouthfeel and length of this wine.” – James Suckling
93 pts. “Made in a traditional manner with three years of aging in large Slavonian oak casks, the 2013 Brunello di Montalcino Campogiovanni is a beautifully polished and delicate wine. This vintage is also very accessible, meaning you also will be able to enjoy it in the near and medium-term. Its appearance is dark and velvety, and the bouquet opens to bold aromas of cherry and black currant. This wine also had a firmer sense of structure and texture compared to many of its peers from the vintage. This wine gives you an authentic taste of Tuscany. 85,000 bottles made.” – The Wine Advocate
More about the Wine:
The stunning 50-acre Campogiovanni, a tenuta on the prestigious “south slope” of the famed Montalcino hill, was purchased in 1984 by top Chianti producer Agricola San Felice. It proved a spectacularly prescient acquisition; the conventional wisdom in Montalcino being that wines from this south-facing slope are typically richer, broader and more intense in style compared to those from vineyards oriented north.
Campogiovanni’s 30 acres of Sangiovese Grosso vines, the oldest planted in the mid-1960s, face south and southwest at some of the highest elevations in all of Montalcino.
Winemaker Leonardo Bellaccini takes the slow and careful approach here to achieve intensity and finesse: fermenting in stainless steel tanks for about three weeks to extract flavor and texture, then aging the wine for 36-42 months in large, used Slavonian oak botti. A small percentage of the wine sees 12 months in smaller barriques to lend an extra touch of polish to the blend. Finally, there is another 12 months of bottle aging before the wine is deemed ready to be released.
The critics’ reviews are glowing for this exceptional vintage. Ian d’Agata has this to say: “The 2013 Brunellos are far better balanced than the overrated 2011s, and they are deeper and more penetrating than the 2012s. Clearly, the 2013 Brunellos will leave those weaned on big, rich, tannic, high-pH wines scratching their heads, but those who prefer their Sangiovese restrained and refined will be grinning from ear to ear.”
2013 Campogiovanni is no exception. Load up.
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