Situated about an hour south of Florence, Fanti’s San Filippo Estate has remained in the family since the early eighteenth century. When current steward of the historic estate, Filippo Fanti, took the helm in the early 1970’s, he pushed the envelope of quality by replanting the vineyards and selecting only the most extraordinary parcels for his Brunello production. Over forty years later, Filippo has returned the estate to its former glory through increased organic practices and traditional mechanical agronomics. Along with his daughter, Elisa, Filippo farms the estate with eco-friendly practices and continues to listen to the natural life cycle of his special pocket of Tuscany. The result is a stunning expression of Sangiovese with a pure voice of terroir.
Derived from 20-30 year old vines, Fanti crafts this Brunello di Montalcino with the ideal marriage of modern and traditional winemaking practices. Manually harvested grapes are meticulously sorted, destemmed then fermented and macerated in climate-controlled stainless steel tanks. The wine undergoes daily pump-overs then undergoes malolactic fermentation before it is transferred to barrel. The wine then partially ages in French oak barriques with the remainder in medium-capacity casks for a minimum of twenty-four months. Following bottling, this Brunello di Montalcino matures for an additional four months prior to release. The result is a Sangiovese of beautiful ripeness, balance and elegance that is primed to pop the cork immediately.
This 2010 Brunello exhibits a dark crimson core with orange and light amber reflections on the rim, consistent with Sangiovese at six years of age. Ripe black plum, black cherry, freshly picked sour cherry, wild raspberry and intense floral perfume awaken the senses then evolve to reveal aromas of wild herbs, tomato leaf, leather, tobacco, orange peel, wet clay and a haunting array of exotic spices. The palate is medium-plus in body and delivers richness of fruit, without being sweet or overripe, all of which is balanced by refreshing acidity, soft tannins and beautiful elegance. I highly advise decanting this wine. Although it is lovely out of the gate, it will peak after an hour. Service temperature is key in enjoying the delicate interplay of aromas; so, serve this wine at 60-65 degrees in a Bordeaux stem. Enjoy with
this New York Times recipe for traditional ragù and watch this dish and the wine come alive.
