Winemaker Federico Buffi took me through a large portion of their vineyards, all located east and southeast of the Montosoli Hill. In recent years, the family has begun slowly replanting some of their oldest vines to maintain health in the vineyards and ensure a bright future for the winery. All of the family’s portfolio is made from Montosoli, with parcels that are contiguous and planted high in calcium carbonate soils. A large collection of marine fossils regularly found throughout the vineyard is located in the winery. The combination of Baricci’s northern location, soils, ventilating winds and traditional winemaking yields wines that are a model of purity and refinement, with a stern mineral core and lifting acidity. From the Rosso to the Riserva, this is one of the absolute top portfolios in all of Montalcino
Federico and Francesco Buffi represent the third generation to tend to the Baricci vineyards on the Montosoli hill. They have a lot to be proud of with the release of their 2016 Brunello and 2015 Nello Riserva. Since the beginning, and I truly mean the beginning, Nello Baricci, a son of sharecroppers, spent a large portion of his life tending to the vineyards of other producers before being able to acquire his own. However, once he did, the location he chose paved the way for many of the greatest wines coming out of the region today. Baricci purchased what you might consider to be the tenderloin parcel of the highly-regarded Montosoli hill. Five hectares at an average elevation of 280 meters, which enjoy a south-to-southeastern exposure in poor stony soils. He went on to be the first producer to register his vineyard with the newly-formed Consorzio; and he then created a heritage of traditional winemaking, which guides his family to this very day. Nello Baricci passed away in 2017, yet his memory lives on in every bottle of Montosoli.
The Baricci wines scream Montalcino in every possible way. These pure yet complex expressions of Sangiovese fruit, which are deceiving in how inviting they can seem in their youth, can mature for decades. This is also one of the handful of producers who captured the magic of the 2015 vintage in their Riserva-level bottling. The Nello Riserva comes from a choice parcel within the family vineyard, or as Francesco Baricci puts it, “A cru within a cru”. This is a wine that was first created in 2010 to recognize their grandfather’s accomplishments, and it has since only been released in 2012 and now 2015. The Nello Riserva spends between 21-24 days macerating on the skins, versus the 15-18 days for the Brunello, and it then matures in five-hectoliter tonneaux for forty months. The production is quite small (between 1,800-2,000 bottles each vintage), yet this is a 2015 Riserva that’s worth seeking out. Also of note is that there will be a 2016 Nello Riserva; but it will be released in 2023, as the family feels that it will require more time in bottle to fully express itself.
You don’t feel like you’re pulling up to a Brunello producer’s “estate” as you approach the Baricci homestead. Instead, what you see is a small house surrounded by a thick foliage, with large garage doors that open up into their cramped yet cozy and wholly traditional winery. On the other side of this home is the famed Montosoli hill, which lifts up like an island amongst a sea that is the northern hillside of Montalcino. When looking at Montosoli from the town, it appears almost as a mirage in the midst of a thick forest. What is also apparent is the mark of terroir, as you imagine the sea that once engulfed this region, and how the contours of Montosoli would morph into its unique soils of rock, mineral-rich marls, loam, quartz, shale and limestone with marine fossil strewn throughout. The family’s fifteen hectares are considered the choice parcel of the hill, ranging up to 280 meters in elevation and enjoying a south-to-southeast exposure. This location doesn’t share the deteriorating rock components from the hill of Montalcino as much of the surrounding territory does; it is uniquely its own individual terroir, and a true cru of the region.
Long before the concept of a cru or the fame of Montosoli was confirmed, Nello Baricci realized that this was a very special location, and when the time came that this son of sharecroppers could afford his own land, it was this location that he chose. Today, it is the third generation, Federico Buffi, who cares for the vines and raises these wines using the teachings of his grandfather; and I can assure you that Nello Baricci, who passed away in 2017, would be very proud. The Baricci wines speak of the soul of Montalcino, as well as the terroir of Montosoli. When I taste them, it’s the classicism, purity, regal tannins, depth of fruit and harmony that invokes thoughts of not just Montalcino, but the world’s greatest wines. In a truly romantic way, this family of farmers, who also happen to be winemakers, are producing some of Italy’s hidden gems. I only hope that they never change.
