Winemaker Notes
#31 Wine Spectator Top 100 of 2022
Boscarelli Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Riserva is ruby red with garnet hues, the bouquet recalls plums and blueberries, elegantly confirmed on the structured and complex palate.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
An intriguing note of orange peel joins black cherry, blackberry, wild rosemary and iron flavors in this sleek, firmly structured red. There's drive and energy from the vibrant acidity, along with a solid base of refined tannins, making this a compelling wine with fine potential ahead. Shows terrific length. Sangiovese and Colorino. Best from 2023.
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Wine & Spirits
The De Ferrari family stopped producing this wine after the 1992 vintage in order to replant with a selection from their historic vineyards, resuming production in 2010 when the vines were close to 20 years old. This Riserva comes out of the long and balanced 2016 vintage. Its red-cherry flavors are pure and focused, resonant with notes of fresh thyme and tangy orange zest. The tannins are smooth and cool, framing the flavors as the wine takes on notes of licorice and lavender on the way to a long and lively finish.
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Wine Enthusiast
Spicy aromas of white pepper and star anise mingle with camphor and blue flower. Savory and balanced, the taut palate has finesse and surprising freshness for the vintage, showcasing Marasca cherry, raspberry compote, espresso and licorice. Taut, velvety tannins provide polished support. Drink though 2027.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2016 Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Riserva is based on Sangiovese but sees a tiny bit of Colorino added to the blend. Aged longer than a classic Vino Nobile, this Riserva is elegant and fine. The primary fruit is neatly folded into the wine's savory aromas of spice, leather and toasted nut. The bouquet is on the neutral side, but the basics are all there. Ultimately, you get good balance here and a well-rounded Tuscan red that is well suited to roasted lamb or pork.
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.