When The Buyer interviewed Santiago Marone Cinzano last August, we noted not just his age (he’s barely over 30) but his ambition too.
Cinzano, son of Count Francesco Cinzano, has rejected the notion that a single plot on an estate will always yield the best wine and has instead committed to vintage-by-vintage site selection. At the posh Trullo restaurant in north London we are summoned to taste this second vintage of Lot. 1, the just released 2020.
The Conti Marone Cinzano estate spans roughly 500 hectares, with 100 ha under vine, all of which fall within the DOCG Brunello di Montalcino zone and are planted exclusively with Sangiovese.
Although he doesn’t use the term himself, Cinzano is a bit of a disrupter in the appellation. His prospectus, if we may call it that, is that to stay relevant Brunello di Montalcino has to change. “Among friends of my age, Brunello however good is not the coolest wine. My generation is impatient. They won’t wait twenty years for a wine to reach its peak,” he says.
And these drinkers – who are destined to be the mainstay of tomorrow’s consumer market – don’t rate traditional full-bodied, highly tannic wines whatever their supposed prestige.
Fruit-forward, juicy and fun
Santiago Marone Cinzano - rejecting the philosophy that the same plot in a vineyard will always produce the best wine
In Cinzano’s unashamed view, it’s time to offer something more contemporary, something more “drinkable”. That’s the purpose of Lot. 1. “What I want is something, elegant, vertical, fruit-forward, juicy and fun”, he says.
The core of the project is a rejection of the idea that a single plot on an estate will always yield the best. Instead, the range offers a single lot of hand-numbered bottles from the “itinerant selection” of the best Sangiovese from each Brunello harvest. Lot.1 can be seen as a direct response to this inconsistency, using vintage-by-vintage site selection as a means of adapting to the unpredictability of climate extremes.
Cinzano’s approach remains rare in Brunello di Montalcino, where fixed vineyard identities tend to dominate top-tier releases.
So how does the new 2020 acquit itself? It’s still young but, interestingly, in Cinzano’s view it is already a lot nearer maturity than the previous year’s vintage. The 2019 harvest was a textbook year weatherwise. By comparison 2020 had a good deal of early rainfall with a hot summer and an exceptional diurnal range. The focus was on the Fontillatro vineyard, a flat area sitting at 210 metres, which is more open to the elements and, hence, least likely to suffer from disease.
Production of the 2020 with an ABV of 14.5% was just 6,644 bottles from vines planted in 1985. The wine spent only 28 months in oak barrels to keep that fruit-forward freshness, something which would have disqualified it for the formal riserva category of Brunello di Montalcino. In fact the barrels are from the 1960s so they won’t impact the taste much at all. What the team looks for from the fruit is “aromatic precursors”, that is, hints of potential aromatics that reduces the need to extract too much from the grapes.
The latest wine’s appeal is immediate. It’s soft, smooth and rounded and draws epithets such as “sensuous” and “voluptuous”. There are notes of raspberry and dark chocolate. Like the previous year, its elegantly balanced between precision and generosity. As those around the lunch table agree it is dangerously drinkable – and tailormade for those younger drinkers.
Impatience is a virtue
But, of course, a somewhat invidious comparison with the 2019 must be made. Here is when a divide in opinion around the table opens up. The 2019 is quite a different wine. Sure, it’s still approachable but it has more complexity, more formal structure. Above all it has more energy. As opinions become shriller, it’s agreed a vote must be taken to decide the question. By some margin, the 2020 comes out on top. It’s conceded, however, that it’s more of a pleaser now and may be outshone by the previous year’s vintage in time.
And I would add that the 2019 looks special in its ability to be both approachable and to open up the world of wines with more traditional characteristics. The energy is the thing and that makes the older vintage a wonderful “gateway” to fine wines for that impatient generation.
If you're hungry look away now - too late! Lot. 1 2020 was launched at Trullo, North London
Lot. 1 2019 and 2020 are available from Honest Grapes. The in-bond price is £510 per case of three, or £170 per bottle.
And after Lot. 1? Well, plans for a Rosso di Montalcino are well advanced. That will be Lot. 2.
