Fattoi, is something changing?

Many times, on the blog but not only, I talked about Fattoi winery.

In my opinion one of the most interesting realities within Montalcino, with cellar and vineyards in Santa Restituta, surely one of the areas of greatest interest and potential of the entire appellation (for which the name Soldera Case Basse is enough to clarify its value).

A family business but at the same time high-level, with the rare ability to combine tradition, expressive strength, rusticity and price/quality ratio in its wines.

Certainly I have not changed my opinion about them - and in all likelihood I never will - even if based on the more recents tastings the idea that something has changed in their wines is slowly maturing in me, especially for what concerns Rosso di Montalcino.

Not that this is necessarily to be understood in a negative way, but it still represents my personal perception of a change in the corporate style, of which I had had "an inkling" after some quick tastings carried out in recent years and of which I had further confirmation from the very recent drink of their Rosso di Montalcino 2018.

A well done wine, already linear in its development and well balanced on the palate, a Sangiovese capable of perfectly accompanying the typical dishes of our cuisine, and in substance very close to the idea of ​​how it should be - at least on paper - a Rosso di Montalcino.

But - and here lies the matter - quite distant relative of those that winery produced a few years ago, rustic wines and even broken down in their youth, however exuberant and dynamic, as well as rich in those variations that those who (like me) lives wine as a passion rather than a necessity, it can only seek and love.

I still remember the fantastic 2012/2013 versions, capable of getting me excited to the point of further nourishing my passion for wine (at that time already underway but in many respects still in an embryonic stage).

An emotion that - beyond pleasantness and stylistic precision - I have experienced less and less in subsequent versions, even those relating to really great vintages for this territory (I am thinking, for example, of 2016).

In short, a winery that – most likely – is raising the technical level of its products year after year (both about Rosso and Brunello di Montalcino) but at the same time is partially giving up a stylistic identity and that pinch of craftsmanship that made it recognizable and sought after by many winelovers.

 

Fattoi Rosso di Montalcino DOC 2018

Personal rating: 88/100

Grapes: 100%Sangiovese Grosso

Aging: 12 months (partly in oak barrels, partly in cement)

Alcoholic Content: 13.5%

Price range: 13-18 €

 

TASTING

👀 Ruby / garnet, medium intense and dense, limpid and transparent in the glass

👃Clean, varietal and with a good overall finesse. Medium intense and complex. Red fruit (black cherry above all), tobacco, earthy and animal nuances, light balsamic notes

👄Medium-bodied, linear and precise, dry and balanced in its components. Excellent freshness well balanced by the alcohol component, tannin already integrated into the structure. Good but not exceptional persistence, incisive finish on fruity and toasted hazelnut notes.