2009 Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Riserva, Sanguineto I e II, Tuscany

2009 Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Riserva, Sanguineto I e II, Tuscany

Product: 20098027805
 
2009 Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Riserva, Sanguineto I e II, Tuscany

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Description

Evidently a prodigious wine, if difficult to ‘read’ at this early stage of its life. Recently bottled, having spent three years in 18-30hl large slavonian and French alliers oak, there’s a great presence on the nose, of something lithe, looming and important. As with all Patrizia and Dora’s wines there’s wonderful fruit purity, cleansing acidity and a clear identity of place (Montepulciano). The 2009 Riserva draws on the fabulous summer and on their organic Prugnolo Gentile (80%), Canaiolo (10%) and Mammolo (10%) fruit, transformed over time into a fulsome wine for the long haul.
David Berry Green

Re-introducing the tiny (just under fourhectare) but emphatically big-hearted Vino Nobile di Montepulciano estate Poderi Sanguineto I e II, owned by Dora Forsoni and her partner Patrizia. Dora tends the vines (organically) and hunts (voraciously) while Patrizia makes the wine (traditionally). They eschew the thirst for international grapes, focusing instead on an indigenous blend of Prugnolo Gentile (Sangiovese), Canaiolo and Mammolo, planted on Pliocene, calcareous clay. Their wines are emphatic and authentic.

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About this WINE

Sanguineto I e II, Tuscany

Sanguineto I e II, Tuscany

There are no documents that bear witness to the history of Sanguineto, but popular tradition tells us that this area/zone close to the town of Montepulciano was host to some of the bloodiest battles fought between the Etruscans and the Romans. Legend has it that the ground was so red with the blood of the two armies' fallen soldiers that the area's nick-name soon became "SANGUINETO".

It also became well known for the quality of their Prugnolo Gentile (Sangiovese) grapes. The Poderi Sanguineto 1 e 2 vineyards are situated in an area especially suited to the cultivation of Nobili grapes, at about 330 metres above sea level. The earth has Pliocenic, calcareous clay origins and is exposed to the sun from morning to evening.

This small 3.7 ha artisan estate is owned by Dora Forsoni, who tends the vines (organically) and hunts (vociferously), while her partner Patrizia makes the wine traditionally in cement and large 18-30hl slavonian and French botti. Formerly suppliers of grapes to famous neighbours Romeo and Boscarelli, the couple decided to switch to bottling their fruit in 2003. Importantly they have eschewed the use of international/French (Merlot!) grape varieties in their blends, staying loyal to the autochthonous Prugnolo Gentile (Sangiovese), Canaiolo and Mammolo; grapes that frame the character of true Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, one of Italy’s most ancient wines. Farming their land organically has no doubt helped to bring out the full expression of both place and grapes. David Berry Green

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Vino Nobile di Montepulciano

Vino Nobile di Montepulciano

Vino Nobile di Montepulciano is one of three great Sangiovese DOCG zones in Tuscany (along with Chianti Classico and Brunello di Montalcino) and certainly the oldest and the smallest. 

Montepulciano wine was first documented in 789 AD when a cleric, Arnipert, offered the church of San Silvestre some vineyards attached to the castle of Policiano; in his `Historical & Geographical Dictionary of Tuscany' Repetti mentions the trade in Montepulciano wines from 1350.  In the mid-16th century Pope John III's cellarman praised the region's wine as `perfect in both winter and summer; aromatic, fleshy, never sour nor brightly-coloured, because it is a wine fit for a Nobleman' while in his ode `Bacchus in Tuscany' (1685) Redi triumphantly proclaims that `Montepulciano is the king of all wines!' Despite all this, wines from Montepulciano clearly lost their lustre in the 19th century when they were mostly labelled and sold as Chianti. With the creation of the Vino Nobile di Montepulciano DOC in the 1960s, and its promotion to DOCG status in 1980, however, the region's identity and focus was firmly restored.

The Vino Nobile di Montepulciano DOCG covers only 820ha - compared to 12,000ha for Brunello di Montalcino and 7,000ha for Chianti Classico. Located an hour's drive east of Montalcino, the hilltop town of Montepulciano and its surrounding vineyards lie at between 250m and 600m altitude. The finest vineyards are situated about 300m above sea-level on south-east facing slopes made up of a mix of sandy, gravelly, clay soils. 

Sangioveseand Prugnolo Gentile (a more open, larger-berried clone of Sangiovese) account for at least 70% of the blend along with a maximum 20% Canaiolo and a maximum 20% from other permitted varieties. The latter include the highly regarded local variety, Mammolo, prized for its plummy perfume yet sadly increasingly losing out to international varieties like Merlot. 

The maximum yield for Vino Nobile di Montepulciano is 56 hl/ha and the wine must be aged for 2 years from 1st January after the harvest, either entirely in oak, or 18 months in oak and 6 months in bottle, or 12 months in oak, 6 months in bottle and 6 months in other storage. Riserva wines must have a minimum alcohol content of 13% and must be aged for 3 years. All wines must be bottled within the commune of Montepulciano and must have a minimum dry extract of 23 g/l.

Stylistically, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano combines the richness of Brunello di Montalcino with the perfume of Chianti Classico. Without the limestone spine of other top Tuscan sites, the wines tend to be medium to full-bodied with firm tannins, lively acidity, fleshy strawberry and cherry fruit and hints of tea leaves. The best examples should age 8 to 15 years while Riservas can last for over two decades.

Recommended producer: Massimo Romeo.

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Sangiovese

Sangiovese

A black grape widely grown in Central Italy and the main component of Chianti and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano as well as being the sole permitted grape for the famed Brunello di Montalcino.

It is a high yielding, late ripening grape that performs best on well-drained calcareous soils on south-facing hillsides. For years it was blighted by poor clonal selection and massive overcropping - however since the 1980s the quality of Sangiovese-based wines has rocketed upwards and they are now some of the most sought after in the world.

It produces wines with pronounced tannins and acidity, though not always with great depth of colour, and its character can vary from farmyard/leather nuances through to essence of red cherries and plums. In the 1960s the advent of Super Tuscans saw bottlings of 100% Sangiovese wines, as well as the introduction of Sangiovese/Cabernet Sauvignon blends, the most famous being Tignanello.

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