Questo vino
Vineyard and terroir
DUELECCI lies on a rolling hill in the southern part of Montalcino, within the area occupied by Tenuta di Sesta’s vineyards. After years of comparative work among the estate’s three leading Brunello sites, DUELECCI became the dedicated vineyard for the Riserva. The bottling alternates between its eastern and western sectors according to seasonal conditions. The western parcel has less skeletal, richer soil and performs best in hotter or drier seasons, while the stonier eastern parcel is preferred in cooler years.
The vines face south at 280–350 metres above sea level, with 5,000 plants per hectare trained to a spur-pruned cordon. Vineyard work includes manual winter pruning, shoot thinning, desuckering, bunch-number control and summer thinning. Every operation in the Riserva parcel is timed vine by vine.
Grapes
100% Sangiovese grosso. The wine is made only in the best years. For the 2020 vintage, harvest ran from 20 September to 2 October. Grapes were picked manually and rigorously graded in the vineyard, with imperfect fruit removed.
Vinification
Maceration lasts 25 days. Alcoholic and malolactic fermentations take place in temperature-controlled stainless-steel tanks.
Ageing
The 2020 technical table specifies 3.5 years in 20–25 hl Slavonian oak casks. The descriptive passage gives 40 months in 20 hl Slavonian oak. Bottle maturation lasts at least 12 months.
Technical data
Vintage: 2020. Alcohol: 14.5% vol. Total acidity: 5.61 g/L. Total dry extract: 34.8 g/L. Average annual production: 4,000 bottles. Packaging is a 600 g Bordeaux bottle.
Tasting profile
Ruby red tends toward garnet with maturation. The intense, broad and ethereal bouquet combines ripe fruit with spice, liquorice, tobacco, black pepper and chocolate, followed by brushwood, humus and mushroom. The palate is dry, warm, complex and full, with softness, dense fruit, velvety tannins, balance and a long, elegant persistence.
Serving and pairing
Serve at 18–20°C. Older bottles should be opened several hours beforehand or decanted. Suitable pairings include red meats, roasts, poultry, venison and other game, mushrooms, structured first courses, mature cheeses and seasoned sheep’s cheeses. Major vintages can also be enjoyed as contemplative wines.
Label / history
The estate began presenting the Riserva as a single-vineyard DUELECCI wine with the 2012 vintage. The selected side—EST or OVEST—is stated directly on the label and reflects the climatic character of that season.
