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HI FOLKS,

You know I love a fan favorite and CARLEONE IL GUERCIO is a first-ballot Hall Of Famer.

I was blinded the 2019 and fell in love like a teenager and subsequently blind-tasted anyone who would have me, from Burgundy experts to novices on the street. It's so unbelievable sublime for the price.

We blew through the 2019, then MAGS of the 2019 and TODAY I AM BEYOND GA-GA ecstatic to offer you the new 2020 "RASCAL", and I SWEAR, it's BETTER than the 2019.  I know, I know, but it's true.  THE WINE IS OUTSTANDING. This is my favorite wine discovery in a LONG TIME.  

If you take a shot on one new wine this year or had the 2019, GUERCIO is a no-brainer.  Check out Dario THE BUTCHER (HOLDING a 3L) Cecchini below, or ask famous Burgundy importer Peter Wasserman or my main man Jimmy Greco. 
 
THIS WINE IS OUTSTANDING.  Capitalize everything!!! 

Il Guerico is a 100% Organic and Biodynamic Sangiovese made by the one-eyed madman Sean O’Callahan at high elevations in Chianti Classico. I remember the first time I had a bottle of Stella di Campalto and was BLOWN away by its elegance and complexity. Same for Ghislane Barthod.  If you like elegant, complex, fresh, structured, lifted, balanced, ABSOFREAKINGLUTELY DELICIOUS Sangiovese this is going to knock your socks off.   
 
THE WINE IS ABSOFREAKINGLUTELY DELICIOUS.  
 
Tenuta di Carleone 2020 'Il Guercio' $95
Summer or Save It Six Pack $420
In Stock, Extremely Limited
CLICK HERE TO ORDER A ONE EYED RASCAL
We have been hosting a plethora of wine dinners and tastings in our new farm room and we ALWAYS end up breaking out into a blind tasting.  My good buddy Iacopo Di Teodoro, who I buy a lot of wine from, is one of the most knowledgable Italian wine experts I have met in my career and has an otherworldly good palate. When wine insiders get together they try to out-nerd each other it's hard to impress. A week ago Iacopo blinded me and a group of my members with a bottle IL GUERCIO - the one-eyed rascal - AND ROCKED our world. 

Well under $100/btl this wine is a STEAL. O’Callahan doesn't make a Chianti Riserva nor a Gran Selezione so this is simply an Italian wine at half the price it should be. The bottle shape speaks volumes, this is Sangiovese for Burgundy lovers. O’Callahan was trained in Germany making laser-focused Rieslings and you can certainly see the precision in this wine. 

The vineyards are historic old vines in Radda, very close to MONTEVERTINE.  O’Callahan uses whole clusters and very long fermentation (60-70 days) to create "incredibly thought-provoking" wines.  Galloni says, "This gorgeous, idiosyncratic wine is an absolute winner."

Sean O’Callaghan, known as “Il Guercio” (the one-eyed rascal) makes wines that are incredibly thought-provoking and alluring as they show an entirely new side of what Chianti Classico (the region) can be. International varieties, whole clusters, and a generally low-intervention approach in the cellar inform these unique reds. -- Antonio Galloni, September 2020
 
Stella di Campalto is now virtually impossible to get, and Carleone will be next. You will cry to me in a few years when the price jumps and you can only get a couple of bottles.  A little birdie told me they just took acquired one of Radda's other most famous vineyards so consider this getting in before the IPO.  

The winery is young so time will tell, but ill bet you all the tea in China this is a 20-year wine.  Iacopo will often leave it open and revisit it for a whole week. I don't know what to tell you - THE WINE IS ABSOFREAKINGLUTELY DELICIOUS.  I have about 100 bottles, sorry for those who don't get it.

A Wine's Quality Is Determined In The Glass.
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Shane Benson | Owner | New York Vintners   
 
CLICK HERE TO ORDER A ONE EYED RASCAL
If you don't trust me - TRUST THE WORLD'S MOST FAMOUS BUTCHER - DARIO CECCHINI

Tenuta di Carleone

Radda in Chianti, Toscana

Thirty years ago, world-traveler and one-eyed dreamer Sean O’Callahan handed in his thesis at a German winemaking school, then took off on his motorcycle for an Italian vineyard adventure. He dived into Chianti and never looked back, now partnering with Karl Egger at Tenuta di Carleone. In 2012, Karl and his sister Kristine discovered their labor of love when they began to restore the ruins of Castiglioni, just outside of Radda. The micro-hamlet’s little castle was built by the Badia al Coltibuono monks, who penned the site’s first historical mention in the year 1078.

Using organic and biodynamic practices, they farm a collection of small plots, 20 hectares in total, nestled among wooded hills, small streams and aged olive trees. Some vines were planted in the 1970’s, with others more recently established or replanted. Each site is vinified and aged separately before the final blend is made. Winemaking both thoughtful and playful creates wines of “bevibilità,” that drinkability that makes bottles tend to disappear!

To start out, the wine was made in two garages, but they are currently renovating an old terra cotta factory to serve as the new cantina. Sean’s vision for Sangiovese wine is a balance between structure and fruit. That freshness is achieved by fermenting in concrete and/or steel containers, with a portion of the grapes in whole cluster. 
Karl Egger and Sean O’Callaghan
All About 'Il Guercio'

This wine is named after owner Sean O'Callahan who is often called 'Il Guercio,' which translates to "one-eyed rascal." He was bestowed this nickname because he was born blind in his right eye, which he credits with giving him a unique perspective on winemaking, and on life in general. 
 
A man walks down the street
It's a street in a strange world
Maybe it's the third world
Maybe it's his first time around
Doesn't speak the language
He holds no currency
He is a foreign man
He is surrounded by the sound, the sound
Cattle in the marketplace
Scatterings and orphanages
He looks around, around
He sees angels in the architecture
Spinning in infinity
He says, "Amen and Hallelujah!"

This is the project’s most experimental wine and may change from year to year. The open top bin is where the whole clusters are crushed by foot remain in maceration in the same bin for over three months. Sean skips filtration and fining, lets his wines ferment spontaneously, and admonishes others to “do something that you love.”
The Process
 
Using organic and biodynamic practices, they farm a collection of small plots, 20 hectares in total, nestled among wooded hills, small streams and aged olive trees. Ranging from 450-700 meters elevation, the mini-plots feature soils that alternate between "Alberese" limestone and "Galestro" sandstone and compacted shale. Some vines were planted in the 1970’s, with others more recently established or replanted. Each site is vinified and aged separately before the final blend is made. Winemaking both thoughtful and playful creates wines of “bevibilità,” that drinkability that makes bottles tend to disappear!

Sean’s vision for Sangiovese wine is a balance between structure and fruit. That freshness is achieved by fermenting in concrete and/or steel containers, with a portion of the grapes in whole cluster. 
O’Callaghan in their vineyard
O’Callaghan on His Reformed Vinification Process 
"I have completely revised my approach due to climate change. Twenty nine years ago when I arrived here in Tuscany we would start picking towards the end of October, and we would still have fairly unripe Sangiovese, often not more than 12% abv. Now we start picking towards the end of September, fighting to keep the wines under 15% abvc.

So we now do not do any green harvesting, this way we can almost overcop helping to keep the sugar levels lower and acidity higher. While dropping the leaves around the bunches two to three weeks before harvest, we also pick through thinning out where there is just too much. We make the rosé with these grapes."
Tenuta di Carleone is produced within the Chianti Classico appellation
About the Region:
Chianti Classico
 
Chianti Classico DOCG is the heartland of the Chianti wine region – its traditional and longest-established viticultural area. The typical Chianti Classico wine is a ruby-red, Sangiovese-based wine with aromas of violets and cherries and a hint of earthy spice. The modern-day Chianti Classico viticultural area now covers almost all land between Siena and Florence. It is buffered at each end by the Colli Fiorentini and Colli Senesi production zones. As of 2018, there were 4083 hectares (10,085 acres) of vineyards recorded for the DOCG. Around 2.8 million cases were produced that year.

Sangiovese is Chianti’s heart and hero. Its calling card is mouthwatering acidity, a transparent ruby hue and flavors of black and red cherry. Further accents of violets, herbs, spice and earth are common in this dry red. Moderate tannins increase with quality, as does structure and body, which progresses from light to medium. Chianti rarely achieves the body and density of its Sangiovese-based cousin Brunello further south in Montalcino.
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