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There’s more than just outrageously good Brunello going on at Le Ragnaie. This tiny boutique estate with organically farmed parcels in three of Montalcino’s best climats also produces a wine the rest of us can afford, a small amount of a Toscana Rosso called Troncone. While they also make a (delicious) Rosso di Montalcino, this cuvée was originally labeled Chianti Colli Senesi, the designation for Chianti in the regions surrounding the Classico zone, in which Montalcino falls. But, over time, the wine simply outgrew, quality-wise, the appellation and Troncone, sourced from younger vines from three parcels on an amphitheater at the highest altitude part of the estate, is now more like an affordable Super Tuscan (much as I hate using that term). At over 600 meters, this 100% Sangiovese Grosso cuvée comes from one of the coolest spots in the zone, a distinct advantage in these years of torrid summers. Fermented on its native yeast and macerated for two weeks, it was then aged in used Slavonian oak casks for a year, the sort of treatment more seen in wines costing many times the price of this. It gets its brightness and fresh fruit from its native altitude and its solid concentrated core of delicious Sangiovese from the vineyard’s great exposure.

The just-arrived 2024 right now is a gorgeous wine, even to look at it. It shimmers a deep garnet with a nose that reminded us of currants, dried alpine strawberry, flamed orange peel or blood orange, fresh herbs and something floral. (Violets?) You can taste dusky, earthy notes swirling within all that fruit, and that dash of oak and bit of tannin is just right! Chianti lovers will appreciate its medium-weight, immediately complex approach, while those looking for a bit more oomph with their steak won’t feel shortchanged either. It’s a really nice find.