2007 Montevertine Toscana IGT

2007 Montevertine Toscana IGT

I’ve always been a fan of people who thumb their nose at authority…..so here’s a nice story from Tuscany….the story of the late  Sergio Manetti, one of the most innovative and iconoclastic figures in Chianti, and his battle with the Consorzio Vino Chianti Classico…. and it’s a story with a happy ending for his son Martino still shuns the Consorzio, and still produces lovely wines in the same mould as his Father.

The Montevertine estate was born in 1967, when Sergio Manetti, an industrialist with a background in the steel industry, purchased Montevertine in Radda as a holiday house. It was a pretty rustic pad with no water or electricity, so the property was restored and he planted the famous, Le Pergole Torte vineyard in 1968. He enlisted the help of an old friend, the maestro assaggiatore and famous winemaker, Giulio Gambelli who has worked with such famous estates as Lilliano in Chianti Classico, Case Basse and Poggio di Sotto in Montalcino and Le Casalte in Montepulciano….if you are after traditional wines….Giulio is your man.

The first vintage was produced in 1971 and by the mid-1970′s a cantina had been built and several other vineyards were planted. The 100% Sangiovese wine, Le Pergole Torte was first produced in 1976.

In 1981, Sergio submitted the Le Pergole Torte to the tasting commission as a Chianti Classico Riserva, knowing that it contravined the law which requires a Chianti Classicon to be a blended wine. The result…..Sergio recieved a letter saying the wine was “Not suitable for Bottling” (which still proudly hangs on the cantina wall).

Dismayed at the direction that Chianti was taking, with the addition of international varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon to the wines, the following year, Sergio flipped the Consorzio Vino Chianti Classico the bird and pulled all of his wines out of the DOC and relabelled them as Vino de Tavola (now IGT) and has never looked back.

There are three wines in the Montevertine range….the Pian del Campiolo and the Montevertine which are both blends of Sangiovese with small amounts of Canaiolo & Colorino…and the Le Pergole Torte which is 100% Sangiovese, only made in the best years….one of the great wines of Italy.

The blend in the Montevertine is 90% Sangiovese, 5% Canaiolo and 5% Colorino….it undergoes a long fermentation in cement vats before being aged for 24 months in large Slovonian oak before resting a further 6 months in bottle.

Bright red/purple with rich aromas of bright cherry fruit liberally dosed with spice and hints of rhubarb, forest floor, marzipan, earth, truffle and violets. There is some oak noticeable but is a dreamy, sweet nuance that beautifully underscores the savoury red fruits….it really is a very appealing wine to smell.

On the palate the wines shape and texture is quite striking….the entry is all silky, vivid sour cherry fruit…very focussed and at the lighter end of the medium-bodied spectrum with minerally acidity stretched over a taut canvas of savoury red-fruits with hints of polished leather, truffle, spice, herbs and violets. There is nothing bulbous on the palate….the wine is quite slender in shape, the oak, while there is judged beautifully, the tannins, chalky super-fine and ripe and the acidity is lip-smackingly sapid.

A beautifully made, elegant, traditional Chianti showing fantastic balance and harmony….not as structured as the 2006 vintage….but quite expressive and certainly a crowd pleaser that will have no problems cellaring over the medium-term.

Price: $80

Closure: Cork

Alcohol: 13%

Hey Consorzio....I got something for you!