Montevertine, Sangiovese, Rosso di Toscana IGT, Italy 2022

90% Saniovese, 10% Canaiolo (with perhaps a hint of Colorino).

The standard bearer of the estate, it is aged 24 months in large Slavonian oak barrels. The fruit for this bottling comes primarily from the Montevertine plot itself, a 2.5 hectare parcel of vines planted in 1982 on a south-southeast facing slope.

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. 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.

By 1981, due to Signor Manetti's refusal to incorporate Trebbiano into the Montevertine blend, Montevertine left the Chianti Classico consortium, thereby forgoing the Chianti Classico denomination. Because of this history, Montevertine is frequently, but erroneously, included in the category of "super-Tuscan" wine. In fact, Montevertine's policy of strict reliance on Sangiovese with a small complement of Colorino and Canaiolo is in direct contradiction to the approach of super-Tuscan estates, which purposely include non-local grape varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Merlot in their blends. Despite the formal lack of the appellation, Montevertine is one of the rare examples of a true Chianti Classico.