Avignonesi Vino Nobile di Montepulciano 2015
- Decanter
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Wine
Enthusiast -
James
Suckling
Product Details
Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
Since acquiring the property in 2009, Virginie Saverys has worked to convert all 162-plus hectares of vineyards to organic and biodynamic practices. In 2015 the Sangiovese was harvested relatively early, between 10-28 September. Hints of dried rose petals, violet, pepper and black tea add complexity to fragrant red cherry and strawberry. While light on its feet and immediately appealing, it has the substance and structure to hold for the next eight years.
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Wine Enthusiast
Aromas of baking spice, mature plum and crushed aromatic herb lift out of the glass. Elegant and linear, the taut medium-bodied palate offers dried cherry, star anise and a hint of espresso alongside youthfully austere fine-grained tannins.
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James Suckling
This has some pleasant, red-fruit aromas, but there’s a slightly unexpected undercurrent of dried tobacco, leather and cedar. The palate shows good form and polish, though, finishing round and juicy. Pure sangiovese.
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The estate, which bears the name of a noble family from Montepulciano, was taken over in 2009 by the Belgian Virginie Saverys. In a decade, under her leadership, Avignonesi has become the largest regenerative wine estate in Italy. Out of respect for workers, consumers and the environment, Virginie Saverys has banned highly toxic synthetic biocides - alas too widespread in the wine world - which poison populations, soils, air and water. Concurrently, the cellar has forbidden the use of yeasts, dyes, enzymes, tannins and other industrial biochemical adjuvants. Finally, Avignonesi is vigorously pursuing an energy transition policy to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions drastically. Avignonesi is a benefit company and is a certified B Corporation. We are part of a global movement for an inclusive, equitable, and regenerative economy.
Convinced that there are no great wines without good grapes, Virginie focused her efforts on rehabilitating viticulture while giving the cellar a more supervisory than interventionist role.
Beyond giving nature back her rights, Avignonesi also fosters the authenticity of its products. Virginie Saverys and her team have developed a modern style of refreshing, fruit-driven wine where elegance prevails. In short, wines that are a pleasure to drink.
Avignonesi owns about 434 acres of fully certified organic and biodynamic vineyards. All wines are vegan and are made exclusively with grapes cultivated on the estate.
Among Italy's elite red grape varieties, Sangiovese has the perfect intersection of bright red fruit and savory earthiness and is responsible for the best red wines of Tuscany. While it is best known as the chief component of Chianti, it is also the main grape in Vino Nobile di Montepulciano and reaches the height of its power and intensity in the complex, long-lived Brunello di Montalcino. Somm Secret—Sangiovese doubles under the alias, Nielluccio, on the French island of Corsica where it produces distinctly floral and refreshing reds and rosés.
This significant Tuscan village—not to be confused with the red grape of the same name widely grown in Abruzzo and the Marche regions—was home to one of the first four Italian DOCGs granted in 1980.
Based on the Sangiovese grape (here called Prugnolo Gentile), the village’s prized wine called Vino Nobile di Montepulciano ranks stylistically in between Chianti Classico, for its finesse, and Brunello di Montalcino for its power. With a deep ruby color, heavy concentration and a firm structure given by the village's heavy, cool clay soils, most Vino Nobile di Montepulciano will demand some bottle age.