Sesti Monteleccio

Sesti Monteleccio is a wine that is both elegant and complex. It has a fantastic nose with aromas of sweet oak, clove, black tea and vanilla with the classic dried dark cherry notes that typical of Sangiovese. On the palate it has more classic Sangiovese notes with rich dried fruit flavours matched to a sour cherry acidity, a generous well balanced finish supported by a firm but soft tannic structure.

Sesti are one of Montalcino’s most celebrated wine estates.

Giuseppe Sesti is no ordinary winegrower. His background is astronomy and music rather than wine, but that didn’t stop him taking on the role of winemaker in chief at the 13th century Castello di Argiano, which he acquired in the 1970s.

He grew up and studied in Venice. Eclectic by nature over the years he has dedicated himself to the history of astronomy, on which subject he has written five books, both on ancient calender systems and the story of the Celestial Sphere.

His study of both the Classics and Oral tradition brought him to re-evaluate the influence of the moon on the vines and in turn the making of the wine itself, reducing to the minimum the level of sulphites used.

In 1975 he had already published tables of the small and larger Moon cycles for agricultural use in order to reduce the use of chemicals on the land.

The moderate microclimate in this southern part of Montalcino helps to create juicy wines with rich, dense complexity, while the altitude (350m) helps to maintain its archetypal sour cherry acidity. Quartz mixed with sand and light clay gives the wines an energizing mineral purity. The Sesti style is very perfumed with soft, sweet fruit and velvety, seductive tannins.

It is not surprising, given Giuseppe’s knowledge of astronomy and astrology, that his winemaking processes follow the lunar cycle. Production is strictly traditional with long maceration and lengthy ageing in the bottle.

Sesti Monteleccio - Hay Wines