Winemaker Notes
Critical Acclaim
All VintagesA garden of savory herbs looms out of the glass, joining fragrant cherries and sweet tobacco leaves. Aged 24 months in small oak barrels, this Sangiovese-based expression is juicy, peppered, and poignant, with notes of tart pomegranate, cinnamon, and red licorice.
In the 1970s, Cecchi moved to the borough of Castellina in Chianti, an area which has traditionally produced Chianti Classico. In its cellar, equipped with the latest technology, the final part of the production cycle is carried out. The fermentation operations are carried out at the four commercial vineyards distributed in famous DOC zones in Tuscany and Umbria: Villa Cerna in the Chianti Classico region, Castello di Montauto at San Gimignano, Val delle Rose near Grosseto, and Tenuta Alzatura at Montefalco, in Umbria. Since 2004, following the death of Luigi, his sons Cesare and Andrea, along with their mother Anita, have run the company with enthusiasm and passion.
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.
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.