Rosso Toscana, Giulia, Villa Saletta 2019
James Suckling 95 (2023); Wine Review Online 93; Raffaele Vecchione 91; Decanter World Wine Awards 89
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Why this wine
Villa Saletta is a 1,400-hectare estate near Pisa brought back from ruin over the past two decades, and Giulia is the Bordeaux-grape half of what it makes. Two named vineyards, three weeks on the skins and 24 months in French oak give it weight and polish rather than simple ripeness. Tuscan Cabernet with a cooler, more northerly accent than the Maremma names.
At a glance
- Grape
- Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon
- Region
- Tuscany, Italy
- Alcohol
- 14.50%
- Body
- Medium
- Acidity
- Medium
- Tannins
- Medium
- Sweetness
- Dry
- Drink
- Short (3-5 yrs)
- Pairs with
- Red Meat, Pasta, Cheese
How it tastes
Spice and toasted oak lead the nose, with berry fruit, liquorice and violets behind them. The palate is full and supple, the tannins rounded rather than firm, and the finish turns to ripe red fruit, dark chocolate and tobacco. Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon.
The producer
Villa Saletta lies in the hills of Palaia, in the province of Pisa, an estate that has had only four owners in its long history and that had fallen almost entirely to ruin by the time the English Hands family bought it. Restored over the past two decades, it now covers more than 1,400 hectares of woodland, olive groves, vineyards and crops, farmed under agronomist and oenologist David Landini with an emphasis on biodiversity. Giulia comes off the Torrino and Colline vineyards, four hectares of finely textured clay, marine sediment, sandstone and silty marl, Guyot-trained at 5,900 vines to the hectare; the hand-sorted fruit was destemmed and lightly pressed, then fermented partly in new barrels and partly in small stainless-steel tanks at 26°C with three weeks on the skins, before malolactic conversion and 24 months in French oak barrels and a further six months in bottle. The 2019 season began cool and wet, turned hot and dry from June, and closed with cooler nights that brought the ripening back into balance.
Food and drinking
Serve at 16-18°C and give it an hour in a decanter. It suits roast beef, grilled lamb, pappardelle with a meat ragù and aged pecorino. Drink over the next three to five years.