Winemaker Notes
Vivid ruby red color and good concentration. Intense fragrant nose with evident fruity notes of wild black cherry and currant, together with undertones of violet and vanilla. Full bodied and well balanced sip with silky tannins and a long tasty finish.
Excellent with grilled red and white meats, roasts and aged cheese.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A solid and structured red with bright red and dark berry character and notes of dried orange peel, toasted cedar and crushed stones. Full-bodied, firm and persistent on the palate. Deep and layered with a velvety finish. Drink or hold.
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.