The Secret Of Stefano Amerighi Apice Cortona Syrah 2018 Essentials [A9mJdLek]

It’s official, Syrah has a second spiritual home, in the most unlikely places of Cortona , Southern Tuscany. Stefano Amerighi coaxes the best from the grape here, wild dark plum and blackcurrant, intense olive tapenade and white pepper. The vines are tended biodynamically employing native yeast and minimal sulfur addition. The Tuscan terroir imprint is undeniable in what is most likely the best Syrah to be found in Italy.

This Syrah comes from grapes matures "at the peak" of the de' Canonici vineyard. Aged for two and a a half years in bottle, Stefano only produces this in exceptional vintages; he feels that this bottling represents the "family silver". You can feel Stefano’s deep appreciation for the Northern Rhône in all of his wines, though the ‘Apice’ might be his zenith. Offering a kaleidoscope of spice and brine that recalls some of the Rhône’s greatest growers (think Allemand, Clape), it is still underpinned by a level of phenolic maturity and darker fruit that speaks more readily of the abundant Tuscan sun. With fruit hailing from the apex (i.e. ‘apice’) of Stefano’s most prized vineyard, the wine is only produced in the estate’s best vintages. Raised predominantly in cement tanks, with just a small percentage spending time in large and well-used oak tonneaux, the wine sees an additional 30 months in bottle before release. Plummy magenta in the glass, the Apice delivers black olives, fresh Mediterranean herbs, purple flowers, and licorice on the nose. The palate is carried across feathery tannins, dishing out more tapenade and anise-laden richness, freshened with elements of tarragon, rosemary, plum skin, and crushed stone. Drink now through 2030.