I’d like to share a reflection from my best friend and mentor, where, through speaking about a prestigious wine region, a winery, and its wines, what he’s truly exploring is something as intangible and not yet scientifically provable as ENERGY.
I admire people who delve deeper, who don’t just follow “trends,” unlike those who read a little about a wine region in prestigious “guru” magazines, taste a couple of “recommended” wines from those same “experts,” and suddenly think they know everything about the region, its wines, its culture, its evolution, etc.
My great friend and mentor, in what may seem like an “emotional” reflection, digs into the history and roots of a region as prestigious as Brunello di Montalcino, with a holistic vision—one that can only come from having tasted the world’s finest wines countless times, hundreds, even thousands of them, having traveled tirelessly and wisely chosen the destinations to visit over several decades, having read for millions of hours, carefully selecting sources (in the era of “disinformation”), and having shared his thoughts and experiences with the world’s top professionals, after thousands of hours of calm reflection.
Things in life take time. The “immediate” is trivial, not to mention fleeting.
A short but powerful reflection to better understand Brunello di Montalcino, but more importantly, to encourage us to think about something truly important, even if it can’t yet be measured in a lab: ENERGY.
Salvador Lopez
Septiembre 2024
Le Potazzine Brunello di Montalcino
Brunello di Montalcino is undoubtedly one of the world’s most prestigious wine regions. Its wines are very much in the spotlight, and for some less-experienced enthusiasts, they’ve even become trendy. Just look at some of its most iconic wines: Biondi Santi Riserva, Soldera, Casanova di Neri Cerratalto, Poggio di Sotto Riserva, Stella di Campalto… all of them are cult or luxury wines, though for me, they spark varying levels of interest today. While they all have very high prices, ranging from €300 to €800, they might even seem reasonable compared to many Burgundy wines, quite a few from California, some Spanish wines (Pingus, Ermita, Teso La Monja, Aurum Red…), Australian, and even Chinese wines (Ao Yung…).
We are convinced that today, you can find the highest quality and character in wines priced between €30 and €120. Beyond that, you’re paying for other factors like the winery’s prestige, its history, high scores in influential guides, and the exclusive, luxurious image portrayed in the media… though there are rare exceptions. Take, for example, Le Potazzine Brunello di Montalcino Riserva, which has only been released in four vintages over the last twenty years and fully embodies the concept of exceptionality. The winery knows this wine would sell easily in any vintage. This isn’t just a random statement—it’s something I’ve confirmed through multiple blind tastings among professionals (sommeliers, winemakers, distributors…), where Le Potazzine Brunello di Montalcino has easily outshone wines costing four to seven times as much. Le Potazzine Brunello di Montalcino is simply an exceptional and unique wine, standing alongside the most extraordinary Brunellos, Italian wines, and wines from around the world.
And I’m sure that some of you, especially those who think you know a lot, though you may actually know very little, might think I’m wrong, assuming that a wine priced at €71.21 (plus VAT) couldn’t possibly match wines that cost hundreds or even thousands of euros. I’ll try to explain it, but if you want to prove it for yourself, all you have to do is conduct a blind tasting of 8 to 10 Brunellos, and the conclusions will come naturally to you.
To truly understand anything, you have to give it time and attention. Wine is no different—if you read a lot, travel a lot, taste a lot, and think a lot… little by little, you may reach some conclusions (though nothing is guaranteed), and these conclusions may be more or less accurate, or more or less mistaken. Ever since I was young, I’ve always loved traveling, not just because experiencing something firsthand is more enjoyable than hearing about it or watching it on a screen, but because I’m convinced that energy transmits itself far more naturally and intensely when you’re within 1 or 2 meters, rather than 500 kilometers away.
On our most recent trip to Brunello di Montalcino in January 2024, along with some friends who are among the world’s best sommeliers and tasters, we visited 14 wineries: Poggio di Sotto, Stella di Campalto, Biondi Santi, Gianni Brunelli Le Chiuse di Sotto, Salicutti, Tassi, Pietroso, Soldera, Salvioni, Le Potazzine, Giodo, Pian dell’Orino, Il Marroneto, and Le Chiuse.
We were lucky enough to visit all the wineries we wanted to, thanks to importers and agents who helped us arrange the visits. These visits were all very pleasant, and we got to know and enjoy their wines. But there’s always one winery that transmits something special—a certain energy that reaches deep into your mind and connects with your emotions, where you feel something different. This feeling is hard to explain, but it doesn’t need to be. It’s simply about being lucky enough to experience it. But everyone has their own character, and I believe that luck is the result of a lot of work, reflection, and emotion.
Visiting Le Potazzine in summer or winter is a completely different experience. In late June, the countryside is at its peak, and our attention, energy, and emotions tend to flow outward, allowing us to fully enjoy everything around us. But in exchange, it’s not the best time to reflect inward and process all our perceptions. On that occasion, the eight of us on the trip enjoyed the immense energy of Gigliola Gianetti. After visiting thousands of wineries over the past 35 years, I don’t think I’ve ever felt such energy from a winemaker. It was completely unexpected and unforgettable.
In mid-January, the sensations are very different—the atmosphere is calm, quiet, and peaceful. Now, we were able to channel all our perceptions inward, and from there, share them with the world. After visiting Soldera and Salvioni, and being the fifth and final stop of a long day that started at 7:00 a.m., three women slowly captivated us, simply by explaining what they do naturally year after year. Once again, their overwhelming, vibrant energy took over us. But if the first time we were impressed by Le Potazzine and their wines, this time we went deeper, feeling both the people and the wines from a broader, more global perspective, comparing them with the best Brunellos, Italian wines, and wines from around the world.
To fully understand and appreciate Le Potazzine wines, you need to know the story of Gigliola Gianetti. Gigliola is a young woman (probably about my age, as I was born in 1967), whose enthusiasm, passion, and energy have been with her throughout her life. She chose her mentors well: Franco Biondi Santi, Gianfranco Soldera, and Giulio Gambelli—possibly the three personalities who have defined the character and quality of Brunello wines. At 19, after working for two years at Biondi Santi and against her father’s wishes, she opened her own wine shop in Montalcino’s main square. A few years later, she married Giuseppe Gorelli, her now ex-husband, who was then Giulio Gambelli’s assistant at the Brunello Wine Consortium. In 1993, her daughter Viola was born, and the story of Le Potazzine began with a three-hectare vineyard. In 1996, Sofia was born, and they added two more hectares—these five hectares are still cultivated and vinified today. Meanwhile, Gigliola added a genuine and excellent trattoria next to the wine shop, where I can confirm that the food and wine are as good as any in the world’s finest restaurants.
About 6 to 8 years ago, Gigliola and Giuseppe separated, with Giuseppe leaving Le Potazzine to start his own project, which so far has not stood out for its quality. Meanwhile, Gigliola and her daughters Viola and Sofia now run Le Potazzine together, and today their wines are at an extraordinary level in terms of quality, concept, character, recognition, and prestige.
The term “Potazzine” in Montalcino refers to a type of finch, small, cheerful, colorful birds that sing in the Tuscan countryside. It’s often used as an affectionate nickname for little girls by their parents and grandparents. In fact, it was Gigliola’s maternal grandmother who called Viola and Sofia “Potazzine.” But at the winery, there aren’t just two Potazzine, as everyone thinks and as seen in the winery’s logo—there are three, because Gigliola is the Great Potazzine, passing on all her knowledge, experience, passion, and character to her daughters—everything that matters in life. They are carefully absorbing and applying this knowledge with great force in the winery and in their wines. Being a true Potazzine isn’t about age—it’s about energy, sensitivity, and enthusiasm.
To better understand Brunello wines, it’s important to understand the context, mainly two aspects: the region’s evolution and trends. Brunello is a very young region—apart from Biondi Santi, who started making wine in the early 19th century, nearly all the wineries began in the 1970s and 1980s, quite unlike their neighbors in Chianti, where there are many centuries-old and even a few millennia-old wineries. Brunello has a more extreme climate and poorer soils than Chianti, ideal conditions for making great wines. We must also remember the entrepreneurs who fought and succeeded in raising and dignifying a region in just 50 years, bringing it from zero to the level of Barolo, making Brunello and Barolo the two most prestigious regions in Italy today.
On the other hand, global trends have shifted from the overly oaky, overripe fruit wines of the 90s, aimed at getting high Parker scores, to lighter, more fluid, and elegant wines, which are the most appreciated today. In Brunello, most wineries have managed to maintain their character, not easily giving in to trends (as often happens in Spain), which may bring short-term pleasure but can cause long-term damage. This is the only way to understand why Brunello is a region where, by regulation, wines can only be marketed five years after the harvest. Over the last 20 years, like in many other regions around the world, the styles of Brunello wines have diversified significantly, offering a variety that was previously unimaginable. However, wine enthusiasts now have to work harder to choose wines from one winery or another.
What makes Le Potazzine so special, setting it apart from other wineries? Today, it is the most faithful, accurate, and brilliant interpretation of Giulio Gambelli’s method—the undisputed reference point for understanding the character of Brunello wine. Gambelli was born in 1925 and started working with Tancredi Biondi Santi at age 14. In 1942, he carried out his first harvest at Tenuta di Bibbiano, and he went on to collaborate with many Brunello and Chianti wineries over more than 60 harvests before passing away in 2012. Of the many wineries he advised (in Italy, unlike Spain, consultants are very common and appreciated), today four stand out for their prestige and quality: Montevertine in Chianti, and Soldera, Poggio di Sotto, and Le Potazzine in Brunello. If I had to choose two of them today, in very different styles, it would be Poggio di Sotto, with its magnificent elegance, and Le Potazzine, which for me best conveys Giulio Gambelli’s style in its wines.
In 2012, following Gambelli’s death, Juancho Asenjo, a mentor to all of us who are beginning to explore Italian wine, wrote in Elmundovino: “Gambelli was the most prestigious Tuscan winemaker of all time and the one who showed the way to most of today’s professionals. Gianfranco Soldera, whose winery Giulio had been working with since its inception more than 30 years ago, said that not only was he the best expert on a variety as complex and elusive as Sangiovese, but he was also the best taster he had ever met. All of his wines carried that unmistakable signature, which was simply his interpretation of the land from which they came: elegance, finesse, slow development, aging over the years without intervention, long, earthy tannins that were yet to fully develop but already mature, and the ability to age even the humblest of wines.”
By 2024, things have changed, and the best Brunello wineries now each have their own unique style. For many years, especially in the 90s, Giulio Gambelli and Gianfranco Soldera formed an exceptional partnership, and every time I drink one of those bottles, I can’t help but feel moved and admire how they managed to synchronize to produce such unforgettable wines. Today, at Soldera—which remains an extraordinary winery run by its successors—we no longer feel the magic of those earlier times, perhaps because energy is more tied to people than to places or labels. However, when we open a bottle of Brunello from Le Potazzine today, we are reminded of and enjoy those same extraordinary and unique sensations. Everything was so seemingly simple: a lot of work in the vineyard (even more so in the difficult last 8–10 vintages), harvesting at maturity (neither overripe nor underripe), fermentation with indigenous yeasts and no temperature control for 30–60 days, aging for 40–45 months in large old 3,000–5,000-liter wooden casks… and the wines naturally convey an exceptional balance— a combination of power and finesse, complexity and depth, delicacy and intensity. These are wines that smell and taste like wine, made to be tasted, enjoyed, and paired with food.
At Le Potazzine, they have revived a classic style that, sadly, is on the verge of extinction. And despite being a very young winery that started in 1993, they have always made the right decisions: not abandoning Gambelli’s style, not giving in to trends, being the first to plant at over 500 meters of altitude (which seemed crazy at the time but is now the trend), maintaining fair prices (in an utterly crazy market)… But there’s also something special that no other winery has, something that explains it all—three women who are an endless source of energy. Whether we like it or not, energy shapes the character of wines and of ourselves.
Congratulations to Gigliola, Viola, and Sofia!
Blas Cerón
September 2024
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