A round and juicy red with berry, cherry, mushroom and wet-earth character on both the nose and palate. It’s full-bodied with integrated tannins that are soft and luscious. Long, flavorful finish. Drinkable now, but better in two or three years.
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In 1970, Siro established the Pelagrilli estate with a few small hectares of Brunello vines in the Canalicchio district north and east of the village of Montalcino. Pelagrilli has since become the seat of the Siro Pacenti winery and vine plantings on this site have grown to encompass 15 hectares of Sangiovese Grosso.
Siro’s son, Giancarlo, assumed control of the winery in 1988 and oversaw the family’s first major investment in winery equipment and cellar hygiene after returning from his studies in Bordeaux. In 1990, Giancarlo expanded the holdings of the Siro Pacenti winery with the purchase of Piancornello vineyard in the southeast of Montalcino, which is home to vines planted in the 1960’s by his maternal grandfather. Here, the gravelly soils and southerly position compliment Pelagrilli’s sandy-clay soil and cooler growing environment. The historic plantings at Pelagrilli and Piancornello together make Siro Pacenti one the appellation’s largest owners of Sangiovese vines aged 40 years or greater, comprising roughly 1/5 of Montalcino’s total 40+ year-old plantings.
Today, Giancarlo carries on his family’s legacy with the maximum of precision and attention to detail. Farming practices are sustainable and massal selection from the estate’s oldest parcels supply vine material for new plantings. Meticulous selection in the vineyard brings top quality fruit to the cellar where it is passed through an optical sorter and individual berries are again sorted by hand both pre and post destemming. This helps to explain why the winery produces an average volume of 66,000 bottles per year even though Brunello DOCG regulations would allow upwards of 100,000 bottles from the same number of vines.
In the cellar, fermentations favor minimal intervention apart from temperature stability to allow for slow and gentle extraction. A combination of stainless steel and concrete vats are used for vinification, after which the young wines are transferred to barrel. Giancarlo’s use of barriques for maturation runs counter to the common wisdom that small barrels overshadow the elegance of Sangiovese. Every wine in Giancarlo’s cellar includes components that have passed through new French barriques, yet his wines are known to be among the most elegant and pure expressions of Sangiovese available.
The Siro Pacenti label on a bottle of wine represents an uncompromising approach to winemaking and preservation of rare vines planted at the dawn of Brunello’s golden age.
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LOCATIONWINERY: Pelagrilli, Montalcino VINEYARD: Pelagrilli 15 ha (NE of Montalcino) and Piancornello 13 ha (Sant'Angelo in Colle) VIEW IN GOOGLE MAPS REGION DETAILS |
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96
SEPTEMBER 2024
Siro Pacenti Pelagrilli Brunello di Montalcino DOCG 2020
A round and juicy red with berry, cherry, mushroom and wet-earth character on both the nose and palate. It’s full-bodied with integrated tannins that are soft and luscious. Long, flavorful finish. Drinkable now, but better in two or three years. 94+
NOVEMBER 2024
Siro Pacenti Pelagrilli Brunello di Montalcino DOCG 2020
Plum sauce and sage combine with crushed black cherries and balsamic spice to create a darkly seductive bouquet as the 2020 Brunello di Montalcino Pelagrilli comes to life in the glass. It's silken in feel with cool-toned acidity and racy wild berry fruits that flow across the palate with ease. Incredibly long and expertly balanced, the 2020 leaves hints of black raspberry and sour cherry pits over a layer of sweet tannins. Patience will be required but also rewarded. 95+
NOVEMBER 2024
Siro Pacenti PS Brunello di Montalcino DOCG Riserva 2019
The Siro Pacenti 2019 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva PS opens to an inky black appearance. The bouquet is very intense with baritone aromas of syrupy blackberry, barbecue spice, sweet cedar, toasted wood, baked fruit and savory tobacco. To the palate, it shows a rich, glossy finish with firm tannins and a tightly knit texture that should bode well for future cellaring. In fact, the mouthfeel is so intensely stitched together, it's to the point of feeling polished. I must hand it to vintner Giancarlo Pacenti for the elegance of the mouthfeel on this very, very bold Riserva (with only 2,000 bottles produced). 94
NOVEMBER 2024
Siro Pacenti Vecchie Vigne Brunello di Montalcino DOCG 2020
The 2020 Brunello di Montalcino Vecchie Vigne is tightly wound and inward, with an intense mix of savory herbs, cedar shavings, ground cloves and blood orange forming its bouquet. Velvety smooth and deep, yet surprisingly vibrant, it casts masses of spiced-cherry and wild berry fruits across the palate, complicated by a hint of sour citrus. The structure emerges through the finish, impossibly long and tannic, yet still fresh, leaving a tart blackberry tinge and violet inner florals. This mixes balance and power in a wildly attractive way. 95
NOVEMBER 2024
Siro Pacenti Vecchie Vigne Brunello di Montalcino DOCG 2020
Made with fruit from the estate's oldest vines and aged in French barrique, the Siro Pacenti 2020 Brunello di Montalcino Vecchie Vigne has a spicy note with cardamom or cinnamon over a bold bouquet that is darkly enriched with all kinds of black and purple fruits. You get a hint of eucalyptus or rosemary that underlines a medicinal side to this wine. To the palate, this vintage is slightly more accessible for sure, but the house style prizes concentration and bold tannic structure that will give you runway for aging. There is a hint of dustiness or chalkiness on the tannins. This is a 16,000-bottle release. 94
NOVEMBER 2024
Siro Pacenti Pelagrilli Brunello di Montalcino DOCG 2020
Showing an especially bold bouquet and rich concentration, the Siro Pacenti 2020 Brunello di Montalcino Pelagrilli is a big expression of Sangiovese by all means, but the wine is also balanced. The intensity is played up with aromas of baked fruit, toasted spice, sweet herb and grilled rosemary, and there is a hint of redwood and cedar or barbecue smoke. To the palate, the wine is very round and fleshed out. It covers all corners of the mouth. This is a big-boned wine with powdery young tannins and a velvety finish. Aging takes place in French barrique, which has always been the stylistic choice favored by this estate. Production is 26,000 bottles. 97
SEPTEMBER 2024
Siro Pacenti Vecchie Vigne Brunello di Montalcino DOCG 2020
Intense, overt and fruit-focused Brunello with fresh violets soaked into bright, crushed raspberries, as well as ash and balsamic depth. Full-bodied yet framed and polished, with a deep tannin structure. It’s very tightly wound in the center-palate, meaning it needs time. to open and gain full expression. Allow at least three years for it to come around. Best after 2028. |