Sesti "Toscana Rosato" Sangiovese, Tuscany, Italy 2022

FROM KERMIT LYNCH:

THE WINE: From their idyllic hilltop perch in southern Tuscany, the Sesti family produces some of the finest Brunello di Montalcino out there. Call it a first-world problem, but you can’t drink only Brunello through the heat of summer. The necessity for a wine to be drunk cool during the warm months led the Sestis to create this rosato from Sangiovese otherwise destined to make Brunello (which they could sell for five times the price, by the way). It’s gentle and mouth-filling, perked up by a touch of salinity that recalls the oceanic vineyard soils—quite a sophisticated rosé that is nonetheless gay and carefree.

THE PRODUCER: Although he always enjoyed visiting vineyards and attending tastings, Giuseppe Maria “Giugi” Sesti did not initially choose a career in wine. Instead, his Venetian upbringing inspired him to study music, art, and astronomy, the last of which became his profession. He met his future wife in North Wales while writing his first book on this topic, and in 1975 Giugi and Sarah moved their family to Tuscany, where they bought the abandoned ruins of the hamlet and castle of Argiano, slowly clearing the land and restoring the buildings to create the breathtaking estate we see there today. Giugi was now a father of four, vice-director of a local Baroque opera festival, and actively writing books on astronomy, but he miraculously found spare time to visit local wineries and help his neighbors in the vineyards and cellar. His passion for wine grew along with his experience, and in 1991 he planted his own vineyards on the slopes around the castle. The children helped pick and stomp grapes from the earliest age, and though they, too, pursued international studies in various fields, they always managed to come home for the harvest. In 1999 the couple’s only daughter, Elisa, joined the estate full time, and today she is an active partner in all aspects of the vineyard management and winemaking.