Montevertine, Sangiovese, Rosso di Toscana IGT, Italy 2022

Vines for the flagship Montevertine Rosso come from a variety of parcels: primarily from the Montevertine plot itself (2.5 hectares with south-southeast exposition planted mainly in 1982) just below the house itself, but also from nearby Villanova and Il Pesa, along with choicer parcels from the Selvole and Il Casino vineyards mentioned above. Just as with Pian del Ciampolo, fermentation takes place naturally in enormous cement vats, and the wine is aged two full years in a variety of large old Slavonian oak casks before bottling without fining or filtering. Beginning with the 2021 vintage, this bottling includes a younger planting in Docciole, which contributes a certain juicy exuberance—a welcome bit of lift in today’s “new normal” of relatively hot and lavish growing seasons. 2022 presented Martino and his team with a now-customary intensely warm growing season, so much so that maturation was arrested temporarily, and harvest began on the late date of October 5^th. Despite these fits and starts, however, the end result is a wine of terrific balance—one which, despite its slightly blacker fruit and denser tannic structure, is recognizably Montevertine in its robust acidity, its gently savory earth elements, and its overall magisterial poise.