Argiano, one of the better-known wine estates of Montalcino, takes its name either from the Roman deity Janus or from the nearby Orcia River. But while the origin of the estate’s name is not yet completely clear, what certainly is clear is that Argiano is one of the most strikingly beautiful wine estates in all of Montalcino. (Construction of the estate’s main building, Villa Bellaria, was begun under the auspices of the famous Pecci noble family in 1581, in the style championed by the famous Siena architect Baldassarre Peruzzi, who with Villa Bellaria created the “… most beautiful countryside estate of Siena’s territory”, as judged by Bartolomeo Gherardini in 1616.) But there’s much more than just physical beauty to the magic that is Argiano: it also boasts many highly distinctive features that make it a rather unique winery in the denomination. These include: a layout that is more in tune with a small village than a single winery; a foreign owner from a land farther away than most (Argiano was bought in 2014 by Brazilian André Santos Esteves); a personal wine collection housed in the winery cellars that to describe as “very impressive” would be grossly reductive; and an art collection that is the equal of many a museum (bet you didn’t know about that last one). Last but certainly not least, the last decade has seen Argiano make some of the most improved wines of Montalcino, and the absolutely best, bar none, Supertuscan wine of the denomination (called Solengo, it’s on a par with the Sassicaias and Ornellaias of this world, and in fact Solengo was created under the guidance of Giacomo Tachis, one of the “fathers” of Sassicaia).
Argiano is a place, not just a winery
