For the final Wines to Admire column of the year, I’d like to celebrate Sangiovese’s artful soul with a nod to this exceptional Toscana wine from Vecchie di Terre Montefili, for it embodies the modern tastes of its region beautifully. However, unlike most of my posts in this portion of Opening a Bottle, this story is not one predicated on multiple generations of an historic family.
A Toscana Sangiovese with purity at its core.
Founded by three American friends who brought an old Chianti Classico estate back to life, this rather new company (established in 2015) straddles the boundaries of Panzano, Montefioralle and Greve in the high hills of Chianti Classico. Yet in a very short time, they’ve emerged as one of the most exciting new businesses in this legacy appellation.
Winemaker Serena Gusmeri told me during a virtual tasting seminar this summer that she is a “soft winemaker” who doesn’t want to impact fermentation too much. Twenty years ago (heck, even ten) you would never hear a producer refer to themselves in such a light. The kinds of red wines that garnered praise back then — especially from Tuscany — were those that felt at home with a cigar. But her point is well received today: in a pursuit of elegance, it is best to be gentle with extractions and fermentations, especially with a complex character like Sangiovese.
Across the five wines I tasted from Montefili this year — a Chianti Classico, a Chianti Classico Gran Selezione, and three single-vineyard Toscana reds — a feeling of grace and elegance was always perceived.
The best wine in the bunch was the 2019 “Vigna nel Bosco,” a Toscana Sangiovese with purity at its core. The wine comes from a small plot in the Montefioralle sector of Chianti Classico that is, as the name suggests, ensconced in forest and biologically rich. (Gusmeri noted that the microclimate allows two types of wildflower to bloom that you normally only find on the Mediterranean coast). The soil is also 100% Alberese, a hard, compact limestone that is profuse with calcium carbonate, and which seems to foster a beautiful sense of minerality with Sangiovese. The flavor trifecta of Sangiovese — cherry-orange-savory — stands in the foreground of this wine, while evocative suggestions of cocoa, mushroom and tobacco support everything in the background. This wine shows once and for all that Sangiovese can be a wine of graciousness and subtlety.
If I take issue with anything with this wine, it’s the technicality of its designation. It is more specific than just “Toscana.” The Maremma would never taste like this. Brunello di Montalcino would never taste like this. It tastes 100% like a Chianti Classico, so why not make it one? While the region has a long track-record of Super Tuscans, the DOCG has accepted 100% Sangiovese for some time, and that has advanced it considerably. Like Istine’s “Vigna Casanova dell’Aia,” Castello di Monsanto’s “Il Poggio,” Castello di Volpaia’s “Coltassala,” and Villa Calcinaia’s “Vigna Bastignano,” “Vigna nel Bosco” offers us a single-vineyard spin to Chianti Classico that is specific and exact and uniquely typical of its origin. In other words, it ought to be a Gran Selezione.
And it may be destined for that designation in the future, as winemaker Serena Gusmeri noted during the seminar. The estate already produces a Gran Selezione (a blend of prime plots across the estate), but they believe the nascent category — introduced in 2014 — does not yet have the name recognition to justify four different versions. Even a couple of years ago, I would have agreed with this point, but Gran Selezione is emergent and triumphant at the moment. The time is right to further embrace it.
So don’t be surprised if in future vintages, we see “Vigna nel Bosco” reassigned. Until then, cherish this wine’s delicate dance if you can find a bottle. It is pricey (in the $90 range) but it is on par with many of the greats from Chianti Classico, and unlike many of the $200-plus Brunello di Montalcino wines out there, ready to drink now.
2019 Vecchie di Terre Montefili “Vigna nel Bosco” Toscana Sangiovese
Toscana IGT (Tuscany )
Grapes: Sangiovese (100%)
Alcohol: 14.5%
Opinion: ★★★★★ (out of five)
Food-friendliness: Impeccable
Value: A Little Pricey
A beginner might like … committing the flavors of this wine to memory, for this is the quintessential Sangiovese spectrum of red fruit, momentous citric-like acidity, with a meaty-edge.
A wine obsessive might like … saving this wine for friends with a background in Tuscan wine. “This could only be from Tuscany” I wrote in my notes, and yet what this wine has that a majority of Tuscan wine lacks (still!), is elegance. The lengthy finish here is not fueled by alcohol or tannin, but rather a generosity of Sangiovese character.
Note: This wine was provided by a press agency representing Vecchie di Terre Montefili. Learn more about our samples and editorial policy.
