The 1993 Percarlo is yet another overachiever in a vintage that is rarely talked about today. Tremendous freshness and vibrancy are woven throughout the fruit. This stunningly beautiful wine is laced with sweet red cherries, flowers, spices and mint. It is one of the more delicate wines in this complete vertical, but hugely impressive in every way. Proprietor Luca Martini di Cigala describes 1993 as a year that held tremendous promise until rain arrived during the harvest. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2023. This complete vertical of Percarlo left me speechless. Brothers Luca and Francesco Martini di Cigala showed me every vintage of Percarlo, back to the inaugural 1983, a wine that has now run its full course. I was deeply struck by the consistency of the wines from year to year, and even more importantly, by the great showing of a number of wines from long forgotten vintages, proving yet again the importance of choosing producer over vintage. Percarlo started off as a selection of the estate’s best vineyards. In 2001 the Cigalas sharpened their approach by focusing on what is now literally a bunch by bunch selection across all of the fruit that comes into the winery, an approach they favor because of the huge inconsistency Sangiovese can often show from vine to vine, and even within the same cluster. I also tasted a few vintages of the Chianti Classico Le Baroncole, the top Sangiovese bottling made in vintages not deemed suitable for Percarlo. Readers who want to learn more about San Giusto and Percarlo may want to take a look at my recent video interview with proprietor Luca Martini di Cigala. San Giusto a Rentennano Percarlo Key Points: 1. 100% Sangiovese from the estate’s best vineyards in Gaiole 2. A powerful, intense expression of Sangiovese 3. Remarkably consistent, even in lesser years 4. Aging potential: 20+ years

The one-time ninth-century military fortress, later a convent for nuns, San Giusto a Rentennano, has been one of my favorite producers ever since I extolled the virtues of the 1985 Percarlo, this estate's luxury, 100% Sangiovese, barrique-aged offering. Fans of that wine will be thrilled to know that the 1993 Percarlo is another terrific effort, ranking close to the sensational 1985 (which I had several months ago when it was just beginning to reach full maturity). Aged in small oak casks, of which 33% are new, this wine exhibits a nearly opaque ruby/purple color, a sweet, fragrant, penetrating, blackcurrant, vanillin, and smoky-scented nose, full-bodied, concentrated flavors, copious quantities of glycerin and flesh, excellent purity, and enough acidity and tannin to buttress the wine's large proportions. The finish is 30+ seconds of extract, glycerin, and sweet tannin. This endearing wine is already beginning to drink well; it will last for another 10-15 years.