2018 Castellare di Castellina I Sodi di San Niccolo Toscana 750 ml

Castellare’s I Sodi might be the best-kept secret in Tuscany.

A powerfully bold Sangiovese, it challenges the most expensive wines in the region every year, yet remains off the radar for all but the savviest collectors. But if you’re just hearing about it now, your timing is perfect, because the 2018 reaches new heights.

With a 97-point score from Vinous, this wine matches Il Marroneto’s Madonna della Grazie ($425) and Castello di Ama’s La Casuccia ($248)—not to mention qualitative peers Sassicaia, Ornellaia, and Tignanello, who also received the same score.

This is one of the greatest editions ever of I Sodi, and since the last vintage we offered returned a perfect five-star rating from EVERY member who left a review, that’s saying something. Displaying sumptuous fruit, fine-grained tannins, and the power that’s a signature of the estate, the 2018 is phenomenal. Antonio Galloni called it “Superb!” and said it’s “the most elegant Sodi I have ever tasted, and I have tasted them all.” 

I Sodi is a collaboration between Castellare and the University of Milan to create a wine that could compete with—and beat—the Super Tuscans, but one made solely from indigenous grapes. The resulting blend of 85% Sangioveto (a local Sangiovese clone) and 15% Malvasia Nera hit the mark in a big way, and the critics noticed. When Galloni sat down to taste three decades of I Sodi, an endorsement in itself, he praised its “impeccable track record of consistency and excellence.”

Castellare’s Sangiovese-based flagship has established a permanent place at the very top of Italian reds, earning Gambero Rosso magazine’s Tre Bicchieri (Three Glasses) award—the highest honor in Italian wine—each vintage for the last seven years.