Review: Wines of San Felice, 2024 Releases
San Felice is a busy Tuscan winery that we’ve covered numerous times previously, and today we take a spin with three 2024 reds, all heavy-duty premium offerings. Let’s dig in.
2019 San Felice Campogiovanni Brunello di Montalcino – Who doesn’t love Brunello? Paired with a hearty steak or some other meal of serious gravity? Well, I cracked this bottle alongside a meal of Impossible burgers and I’m here to tell you it works just as well with faux ground beef as it does a ribeye. Dark, dense, and a little bit pruny, this is a wine that hits the palate with a rich thickness, rolling over the tongue en route to a core of plum, currants, and tart black cherries. A slight touch of balsamic doesn’t detract from the chocolate-laced fruit explosion but rather livens it up with a bit of acidity, layering in a touch of fresh rosemary and dill on the back end. There’s a bit of a beefy, savory quality to the wine that is especially evident on the nose as it opens up in the glass, making for a seductive conclusion to an outstanding experience. A / $75
2020 San Felice Pugnitello IGT – Pugnitello is an ancient grape variety native to Tuscany, and San Felice is one of the few wineries to make a 100% pugnitello wine from it. The eponymous bottling is initially dense and almost unbearably rich, but a few minutes in glass let its charms come more fully into focus. Ripe cherries and raspberry are instantaneous, with spice notes coming into fuller focus with a minimum of air time. Cinnamon and allspice are prominent, with anise and a layer of dark chocolate emerging almost as an afterthought. The finish is a little gravelly but touched with a dash of balsamic, which adds some acidity to temper the significant amount of fruit. Incredible, powerful stuff. A / $65
2020 San Felice Vigorello IGT – An early Supertuscan label, this wine blends pugnitello, merlot, cabernet sauvignon, and petit verdot into a tannic and weighty experience. Pushy notes of graphite, turned earth, and anise give the wine a very savory start, with restrained notes of cherry adding a mild but welcome note of fruit. Balsamic and leathery on the enduring finish. The massive amount of chewy tannins present makes for a wine that isn’t drinking at its peak today but which should show incredible promise once it settles down in 5 to 7 years. There’s plenty of gravelly charm to explore should you find yourself impatient… but best to let it sleep tight for a bit. A- / $65
2020 San Felice Pugnitello IGT
$65
