A tour of one of the most representative estates in Montalcino, among the rows, the barrels, the newly restored historic cellar and the flavors of the Val d'Orcia accompanied by the elegance of Argiano wines
A castle, the vineyards, the barrels, the cellar, then the Brunello and a starred lunch. All this is the top of the experience that can be lived in the Val d’Orcia, precisely in Argiano, a stone's throw from Montalcino, where it is based one of the oldest and most renowned wineries in Brunello. Cellar since 1580, Argiano is the seat of Villa Bell’Aria, defined as "the most beautiful country palace in the State of Siena": a noble country residence that has just been restored at the behest of the new owner, Andrè Santos Esteves, a Brazilian tycoon passionate about author wines and in love with the sweetness of the Tuscan hills.
Vine rows and film scenarios
Scenarios so beautiful and characteristic that they can be defined as “from film”. And it is no coincidence that more than one film set has passed through these places: first the Tuscan stage of Julia Roberts in Eat, pray, love, most recently Liam Neeson, together with his son Micheál Richardson (son on the set and in life) was a guest of the Argiano cellar to shoot his Made in Italy, forthcoming film that tells the story of an American who inherits a farmhouse with a vineyard in Tuscany and makes it a project to restructure both the farmhouse and the relationship with his son, eventually also producing a wine called Made in Italy.
The historic cellar just restored
The walk among the rows precedes the visit of the cellars, first the operational one, where the bulk of the Brunello vintages in preparation rests, then the historical cellar, a real jewel of architectural recovery. It is the same curator of the project, the Sienese architect Filippo Gastone Scheggi, who shows us the photos of what it was like before the works, to better appreciate the result. To guide him in his work, respect for the place, for the ancient wisdom in the construction of cellars made to house wine, with the restoration of the air vents that let the precious nectar breathe in the barrels, therefore the skilful recovery of elements of the castle like the shards of the ceiling which, properly treated, become a magnificent herringbone floor, with all the ancient incrustations and the wonderful irregularity.
The restoration is played on material elements, on the ancient which marries the modernity of the integrations, such as the dizzying spiral staircase in corten that descends into the cistern, built following the succession of Fibonacci. It is a real journey into Brunello's past: "Each step is different from the other, laser cut to fit the millimeter", explains the architect, while going down the stairs you cross the ages. Here, as in the Tachis case, there is a wealth of unobtainable bottles, not only from the Argiano winery, but also from other producers who have made the history of Val d'Orcia, Montalcino and its fine wine.
Where the wine rests
And then there are the barrels, the wood, where Brunello rests. Strictly barrels, they are keen to specify, why Montalcino wine must be wide, while barriques have a smaller size and the contact between wine and wood is greater. "Brunello rests in barrels ranging from 60 to 7.5 hectoliters, but we have smaller barrels to refine our Supertuscan", says Bernardino Sani, general manager of the winery and young winemaker with great experience. This is the Solengo, which is an even more sought after product, brought back to its splendor by Sani who dusted off the recipes of the great Giacomo Tachis, king of enology and father among others of Sassicaia and Tignanello, as well as, precisely, the Supertuscan of Argiano.
The whole Val d'Orcia in food and wine
Finally we arrive at Dimore, the farmhouse of the estate. In recent months the lockdown has interrupted the hospitality business, but an experience like the one we have lived can be organized: the chef arrives at home, the kitchens of these delightful apartments overlooking the Tuscan hills are used and also subjected to a conservative and respectful restoration of the territory in which they are located, we eat a lunch (in our starred experience), we combine the excellent reds of the Argiano cellar with the winemaker.
In our experience at the stove there was the chef Roberto Rossi del Silene, the only starred in the Val d'Orcia, as well as the kitchen professional who best interprets the combination of Tuscan traditions and the richness and elegance of Montalcino wines. His is a frank kitchen, apparently without frills, but with a refined research in the raw material. From the homemade bread (and even the panettone), whose mother yeast was perfected with the collaboration of a professor from the University of Siena, to the meat of the tartare, passing through the duck egg that holds the dough of the fabulous ones ravioli and the pigeon which best represents the local cuisine.
Each dish was also a crescendo in the wines, chosen and presented by Bernardino Sani who is the author: if a fresh tartare goes well with a younger Rosso di Montalcino, when it comes to the pigeon it's time for Brunello, with a few years of aging to support such blood. A concentrate of Tuscany in one bite and one sip, looking at the hills with the glass in hand.
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