Winemaker Notes
Blend: 90% Prugnolo Gentile, 5% Canaiolo Nero, 5% Merlot
Professional Ratings
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Vinous
The sweetly scented 2021 Rosso di Montepulciano seduces with a bouquet of crushed black cherries, lavender and rose. It's round and juicy on the palate, stimulating the senses with zesty acidity as ripe red fruits cascade throughout. This leaves a staining of youthful concentration, and fine tannins frame the experience without getting in the way. Frankly, there is so much to like about this young Sangiovese, which will only require a short stay in the cellar to show its best.
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.