2015 Tenuta Le Calcinaie Simone Santini Vernaccia di San Gimignano 750 ml

The Exquisite Italian White That Kisses and Bites

When it comes to capturing the seductive allure of Vernaccia di San Gimignano, Tuscany’s exquisitely mineral white wine, Renaissance master Michelangelo said it best: “It kisses, licks, bites, pinches, and stings.” Perhaps no other Italian white can match the Vernaccia grape for pure liveliness and suppleness when produced by the best estates of the tiny Vernaccia di San Gimignano DOCG.

In Rome, it is unequivocally the order of choice when the clock strikes six, sipped by the glass at outdoor cafes as the sun sets on Trevi Fountain. It is a wine as swaggering, full of grace, and ancient as the City of Love herself.

Yet for all its bottomless charm, Vernaccia di San Gimignano is still criminally under-appreciated in the States. Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate has set out to fix that. Recent Italian vintage reports from the Maryland sage’s publication have dedicated no small amount of ink to celebrating the top producers of the mouthwatering and gorgeously aromatic varietal.

“Vernaccia di San Gimignano is a wine of soaring ambition that would like to touch the sky,” declared one report, before going on to note that it also boasts Burgundian-like age-worthiness, easily able to sit in the cellar for up to a decade. When it can be found for under $20, it is hands-down one of the Boot’s best white bargains.

The Vernaccia grape’s history dates back to the 1st century. In 1966, Vernaccia di San Gimignano was the first area in the country to be granted DOC status — even before Barolo or Barbaresco. By the 1980s, however, Vernaccia had fallen out of favor with Italian wine enthusiasts. Since few producers had the means to make the investment in temperature-controlled cellars, the wines were often prematurely oxidized on release, showing no sign of the crisp mineral cut that makes the variety sing. Luckily, in the early 1990s, things began to turn (and San Gimignano was upgraded to DOCG status). Cellars were modernized as growers raised the bar in the vines. Soon, a few families began turning out whites of incredible tension and surprising complexity.

Among the best of those newer producers was Tenuta Le Calcinaie, named a “breakout winery” by The Wine Advocate in 2015. Run by Simone Santini since 1984, the 30-acre estate just outside San Gimignano’s center dedicates about half its vineyards to the Vernaccia grape. There’s a reason this grape prospers here and almost nowhere else: the well-drained sand and clay soil, uncommon in Tuscany. The product of centuries of erosion, the terroir imparts to Le Calcinaie’s Vernaccia di San Gimignano an incredible mineral complexity.

As a result, Parker’s Wine Advocate has awarded Le Calcinaie some of its highest Vernaccia di San Gimignano scores. The publication hailed the 2015 vintage as “beautifully zesty and crisp” with a mouthfeel that offered “streamlined elegance.” Wine Spectator piled on, calling it “pure and elegant.” If you haven’t tasted a Vernaccia di San Gimignano before, this is a can’t-miss offer!

The 2015 Tenuta Le Calcinaie Vernaccia di San Gimignano is pale gold. Intense mineral aromas of white flowers, green apple, quince, orchard pit, and anise. Juicy, lively, and intense on the attack, filled with a mouthwatering mix of ripe citrus, apple, and beeswax, finishing with exquisite vibrancy and tension. Drink now-2027.

1,200 bottles. $30 on release. Just $15.99 for a few hours from WineAccess — as good as Italian whites ever get at under $20 a bottle.

P.S. If you want to do as the Romans do, lock into a few bottles and open at sunset, accompanied by a plate of prosciutto and pecorino. Perfection.