The best way I can describe today’s wine is to say that it really puts the “Tuscan” in “Super-Tuscan.” Castello dei Rampolla’s “Sammarco” is one of the foundational wines of the star-crossed Super-Tuscan category, and while it has always been driven by Cabernet Sauvignon, it has also remained a wine of place first and foremost. That place is the limestone- and sandstone-rich hills of Chianti Classico.
I like the way the
Wine Advocate’s Monica Larner put it in one of her reviews of Sammarco: “[The] wine is all-Tuscan in its appeal,” she wrote, “with sun-drenched cherry, Mediterranean herb and a pretty balsam note that recalls the thick underbrush and woods of the Chianti Classico countryside.” That’s a perfect summation, and for those of you who collect top-tier Italian reds, it’s not news. Among the many qualities that set Sammarco apart is its longevity, which is the first thing that came to mind when I tasted today’s 2014. This was a cooler vintage in Tuscany and this edition of Sammarco is more brooding and tightly coiled than usual, but there’s a dark, densely concentrated core of fruit that is poised to unfurl with time—and even did so recently over the course of three days tasting and re-tasting a bottle. This is a powerful, focused red that feels like a cross between a Pauillac and a Brunello di Montalcino, and if you can keep your hands off it for a little while, it is going to outclass scores of more-expensive bottles from both places. We can offer up to six bottles per person today of one of the great unsung collectibles on the market!
Of course, to obsessives like me, Sammarco is hardly unsung—but in comparison to Tuscan contemporaries like “Solaia,” Tignanello,” and “Sassicaia,” its name recognition is a step behind. Castello dei Rampolla is perched on one of the iconic hillsides of the Chianti Classico zone—the amphitheater-shaped conca d’oro, or “golden basin,” a striking collection of vineyards covering the south slopes of the village of Panzano. If Chianti Classico had such a thing, this area would be a celebrated “Grand Cru,” and the roster of great producers on these slopes includes the likes of Fontodi and Le Cinciole, among many others. The late Alceo di Napoli (namesake of the other Rampolla Super-Tuscan, “Vigna d’Alceo”) inherited the property in the 1960s, though it had been in his family since the 18th century; he began producing estate-bottled wines in the mid-’70s and released his first edition of Sammarco in 1980 (not far behind Antinori’s inaugural releases of “Solaia” and “Tignanello,” both of which also hail from the Chianti Classico region).
Following Alceo’s untimely death in 1991, his son, Luca, and daughter, Maurizia, took over management of the estate and continue to helm operations today. Luca immediately initiated more sustainable practices in the family’s vineyards, eliminating all chemical inputs and effectively working organically (and, more recently, biodynamically). Over the years, the blend of Sammarco has evolved—originally, the wine contained as much as 40% Sangiovese, but these days it’s just an accent note (5%). The driving forces of this 2014 are Cabernet Sauvignon (65%) and Merlot (30%), as expressed in the limestone- and sandstone-rich soils of Panzano. The result is a wine of profound depth but also considerable nerve and aromatic lift. It is, as noted above, a resolutely Tuscan expression of the Cabernet grape.
The 2014 Sammarco was fermented in concrete vats (called
tini) and aged in a mix of 500-liter French oak
tonneaux and larger Slavonian oak
botti. It then spent nearly two years aging in bottle before release, and yet it’s still a baby at this point: In the glass it’s a deep, nearly opaque ruby moving to magenta at the rim, with aromas of black cherry, black currant, and cassis giving way to lots of graphite and cigar box notes. It is medium-plus in body, with lots of freshness and still-firm tannins that require a good one-plus-hour decant to soften if you decide to open a bottle now. Right now, the wine is in an earthy, ferrous, pencil-lead phase but there’s so much yet to be revealed here: In three to five years this should really start to sing, although I can see it going 20 with ease. Sock some bottles away and forget about them for a while—when you circle back you are in for a treat. Serve it at 60-65 degrees in large Bordeaux stems and pair it with the traditional Tuscan beef stew known as
peposo. A nicely charred grilled ribeye would be perfectly fine as well. Frankly, it’s going to be hard to go wrong when this ’14 hits its stride. Enjoy!
