Every year needs a Super WIA!

The Tuscan kind that is, and none we featured this year wears a Tre Bicchieri like a Ferragamo suit or is sleek as a Lambo.

“Yet another home run in this blockbuster collection.” says Wine Advocate. At this price though? With 11 years on the vintage, drinking like a super-duper Tuscan daydream?!

Get this… It was 30 years ago that Barbara Banke and her late husband Jess Jackson (the great emperor!) fell in love with this Tuscan property and bought it. Attention to detail, global recognition, and big accolades that followed have since catapulted Tenuta di Arceno into the upper echelons of the Italian wine world.

Decanter points out that “The winemaking team is headed by founding winemaker, Pierre Seillan who was pivotal in attaining perfect scores from Robert Parker 15 times for the group’s Vérité wines in Sonoma and is intent on repeating that success… the single vineyards show a great expression of terroir even with international grapes such as Merlot or Cabernet Franc. Tasting the wines demonstrated how the team’s experience and the age of the vines are improving the quality of the wines. ‘I am a servant of the soil. The pure expression of each unique site has, from the beginning, defined my micro-cru philosophy,’ said Seillan.”

For this wine, there’s also what Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate wrote: “Named after the remote vineyard where Merlot finds its preferred growing conditions, Valadorna is an immensely modern and monumental wine.” It should therefore come as no surprise that the 2013 vintage before us today was the first Valadorna to be awarded Tre Bicchieri - THE top accolade there is for any Italian wine. For most authorities, Valadorna is such a strong expression of the dominance of Merlot in Tuscany that it’s mentioned in the same league as the likes of Masseto, Messorio, and Redigafi, which are NOWHERE near what you can steal this epic wine for today.

Tre Bicchieri – Gambero Rosso

95 Points – Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate “The 2013 Valadorna is yet another home run in this blockbuster collection of new releases from Tenuta di Arceno in the southern part of Chianti Classico (Castelnuovo Berardegna). This is a firm and tightly knit expression that is packed tight with black fruit, tobacco, tar, and dark chocolate. The wine shows enormous aromatic intensity, but then it slims down just a touch in the mouth to offer an elegantly tapered finish. Drink 2018-2033.”

94 Points – Decanter “2013 is a fairly classic vintage for Merlot. It was harvested in September, marking a return to the usual picking dates. The percentage of the Merlot here reaches 74% of the blend, in order to maximize its fleshy character in a relatively cool year. The nose is evolved yet with an amazing complexity of tobacco, earthy tones, clean leather, and balsamic depth. On the palate cassis fruit melds with leather and spices, supported by polymerized tannins and natural refreshing acidity. Drink 2021-2035.”

94 Points – James Suckling “Very intense nose of blackberries, dark chocolate, sandalwood, vanilla, treacle and tar. Full-bodied with plenty of dark fruit, but lots of black-olive undertones and bright acidity keep this fresh, while firm tannins carve out an elegant, polished shape. Drink in 2021.”