MASTER CLASSES

In the early 1990s, Countess Noemi Marone Cinzano invited the celebrated oenologist Giacomo Tachis to Argiano. The former owner of the Montalcino estate – she sold the winery to the Brazilian entrepreneur André Santos Esteves in 2012 – hoped to learn a thing or two from the “father of modern Italian winemaking.” Tachis had, after all, helped craft the prestigious Sassicaia in the late 1960s, a wine that went on to become the cornerstone of the Super Tuscan movement. At Argiano, Tachis identified the terroir to be ideal for cultivating international varieties. He also went on to create Solengo – as in “lone wild boar” – a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Sangiovese which, with its 1995 vintage, was the pioneering Super Tuscan of Montalcino.

Bernardino Sani, Argiano’s current CEO and winemaker, worked with Tachis in the harvest of 2002. He was interning as a young oenologist during his studies at Florence University, and the maestro was in his final year working as a consultant at the winery. Although their partnership was brief, Tachis shared much knowledge with the young Sani, who has since built a portfolio of wines at Argiano that continue to gain international acclaim for their refinement and unique expressions.

Sani describes that first 1995 Solengo vintage as “a wine with great quality and amazing personality.” Then, when Tachis left Argiano in 2003, the wine went through “a more dusty period,” he observes. A decade later Sani joined the winery as winemaker. “Since vintage 2015, I have been rediscovering Tachis’ methods, and returning Solengo to its original splendor.” He describes how the blend changed after Tachis departure, as did the style of wine and production. “We started to bring back the great quality standards of Tachis’ times.” Today the Solengo blend is mostly 60 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, with the Merlot and Petit Verdot percentages altering from vintage to vintage. “In the future, I will add Cabernet Franc which has been planted this year.”

Sani admits, “Tachis was a great winemaker and I learned a lot listening to the people who worked with him, such as the old cellar master of Argiano, Adriano Bambagioni. One trick I have learnt is to use three to five percent Sangiovese in the Solengo blend to give some freshness and salinity.”

He also cites the agronomist Francesco Monari who, through an extensive mapping survey at Argiano, has been instrumental in helping Sani identify each vineyard’s unique soil composition and thus use the optimal parcels for each of the wines. “Viticulture is the most important part of our job. I learned from my colleague Francesco but also from traveling and working in different climate conditions and terroirs – listening to the greatest producers. Argiano has a perfect terroir for Sangiovese, but also for Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot, and so I believe that it deserves to make an amazing Super Tuscan.” Today, Sani continues to be mentored by the renowned Tuscan oenologist Alberto Antonini, admitting, “he is the winemaker who has helped me the most with my viticultural approach.”

GENERATION GAME

Generational knowledge is also a powerful form of mentorship, something you often see within family-owned legacy wineries such as Allegrini in Valpolicella. Giovanni Allegrini was a key figure in the estate’s modern success, instrumental in modernizing the winery, and enhancing the quality and reputation of its wines internationally during his time as CEO and winemaker. When he passed away in 1983, he left winemaking duties to his son Franco, who continued to build on his father’s legacy, and in turn imparted his wisdom to his son Francesco.

A wine beautifully capturing this generational spirit is La Poja. Introduced with the 1983 vintage, it was a passion project for Giovanni who insisted on making a wine solely from the indigenous Corvina grape. He acquired a plot on Sant’Ambrogio’s La Grola hill in the Valpolicella Classico area, where he planted vines at an altitude of 380 meters above sea level. It was a decision his grandson Francesco Allegrini, the estate’s current CEO, admits was a rather unconventional act – his peers thought it was a crazy move – in 1980s Valpolicella.

As was making a wine with only the Corvina grape, since the Valpolicella DOC rules at a time insisted the need to blend a percentage of the local grape Rondinella, which meant La Poja was originally classified as a vino da tavola. “At the time we didn’t want to create a wine like Amarone, but to obtain the maximum expression of the Corvina grape. So, we produced La Poja without the appassimento process,” explains Francesco.

His father Franco was also instrumental in passing knowledge when it came to La Poja. Having worked at the winery since the 1960s, the oenologist identified that La Poja would only be made from the higher parts of the vineyard, while the lower plantings would be used for Allegrini La Grola, a blend of Corvina and Oseleta. Today both wines are identified as Veronese IGT.

“For my grandfather, the wine was the culmination of a dream, born from his intuition of the great potential of a rocky, hard-to-cultivate soil,” recalls Francesco. “For my father, it became a symbol of perseverance and pushing boundaries. In the early years of production, especially at its debut in 1983, the wine produced did not meet the high expectations. It was perseverance and the desire to unlock the true potential of this magnificent vineyard that led to La Poja’s eventual acclaim. Reflecting on the history of this wine allows me to identify the values that inspire my daily work.”

THINK BIG

With Argiano's release of the Solengo 1.5L, the Supertuscan of Montalcino, we salute the allure of the magnum

A magnum exudes a sense of celebration. The impressive 1.5-liter bottles not only look fantastic and signify a special occasion, but they are also often produced in limited quantities for an air of exclusivity. The sheer size also matters since wine in a magnum bottle can show better aging potential, developing and maturing more gracefully than it would in a standard bottle. There is a lower ratio of air to wine which slows the oxidation process so the wine often develops more complex flavors and aromas over a longer period.

“The 2022 Solengo will have the texture of a great Bordeaux with a Tuscan smile on it,” says Bernardino Sani, CEO and winemaker at Argiano. His Montalcino estate has just released the 2022 vintage of Argiano Solengo in a 1.5L magnum.

Photography ©Allegrini, Helen Cathcart, Rob Lawson