2021 Gianfranco Fino ES Magnum

The Michelin guide for restaurants, the Vini d'Italia from publisher Gambero Rosso for the best Italian wines. The latest edition was recently published, which judges on the basis of the quality of the wine and its continuity over the years. Michelin gives stars, the Gambero gives glasses. Tre Bicchieri (3 glasses) is the ultimate rating. The guide is 1000 pages thick, reviewed 2,350 producers and more than 10,000 wines. However, this guide remains the most important judge of wines in Italy and the wines of Gianfranco Fino have been voted the absolute number 1. Also in the June / July edition of Winelife 2 pages are devoted to the great wines of Gianfranco.

Gianfranco Fino started this domain in 2004 when he bought a 50-year-old Primitivo vineyard. Despite its recent start, the domain is already a point of reference in the region. The wines already have cult status among wine journalists and aficionados. Extreme quality. 100% primitive. Micro production of 7000 bottles. An absurdly low yield ensures an unprecedented wine from the Primitivo grape. The primitivo grapes for the Gianfranco Es already come from a very small vineyard, but what makes it completely unique (and therefore also explains the price) is that on average only 200 grams of grapes are harvested per vine . So through aggressive pruning only a few bunches are kept on the vine, but they also get all the food that the old vines bring up from deep in the ground. The wine is grown according to biodynamic principles.

For the Gianfranco Es, the grapes are allowed to wither on the plant for some time. This process is called Appassimento and Gianfranco is the absolute reference for good appassimento wines (full, beautiful fruit but also with fresh acidity). When the time is right, the withered grapes are harvested by hand in plastic boxes with careful selection of the bunches and transported in refrigerated trucks. The 2nd strict selection takes place in the winery, after which the wine is pressed very lightly and fermentation / maceration takes place in oak barrels of 600 liters for more than two weeks (temperature controlled with a max T. 23-25 ° C). The wine is then allowed to age for about 10 months in new French oak. The wine is bottled without the use of fining agents and without filtration and then remains on the bottle for at least 6 months before being released.

The Gianfranco Es has a gigantic concentration with an unimaginably fresh acid structure. Perfectly balanced. This is without a doubt the best (high-end) Primitivo on the market. Brilliant

Juckling ends his assessment with: "Facinating" See the various (high) assessment of this iconic wine under the Appendix tab