Salicutti’s 2003 Brunello di Montalcino Piaggione is simply gorgeous. Delicate, perfumed aromatics emerge from the glass, followed by suggestions of sweet red cherries, tobacco, smoke and underbrush. Medium in body, the wine possesses superb length and finessed tannins, in an understated style that relies more on finesse than sheer power. The use of oak is subtle and masterful. The Piaggione was fermented in stainless steel, where it subsequently underwent malolactic fermentation. The wine was then racked into 5-hectoliter French oak barrels, then 10-hectoliter Slavonian oak casks and finally a 40-hectoliter Slavonian oak cask. In 2003 the wine spent two years in oak as opposed to the standard three years as proprietor Francesco Leanza thought the warm vintage had yielded a wine that was best bottled sooner rather than later. That certainly looks like a wise decision as the Piaggione is without a doubt one of the vintage’s high points. Unfortunately total production is just above 5,000 bottles. Anticipated maturity: 2008-2018.