The colour is medium garnet. On the nose tea leaf, plums and dark cherries. In the mouth fresh, with firm tannins but a light body.
Vino Nobile di Montepulciano is one of Italy’s classic red wines produced from Sangiovese. The vineyards of this DOCG surround Montepulciano, a hill town 40 km southeast of Siena, in southeastern Tuscany.
Sangiovese (known locally as “Prugnolo Gentile”) must make up at least 70% of the final wine. Other local varieties permitted in the province of Siena may account for 30% and up to 5% may be white varieties such as Malvasia. The supporting red grapes include Canaiolo and the little known Mammolo.
The aging period for any Vino Nobile di Montepulciano is a minimum of 24 months (36 months for the riserva wines), of which at least 12 months must be spent in oak barrels. Oak barrels are traditionally used here for the slow, controlled maturation they provide, not for their flavor. In fact, local winemakers long used large Italian botti (oak vessels with considerably greater capacity than a barrique and thus with less surface area in relation to volume), rather than the smaller French barriques, in order to avoid undesirable oak characters (vanilla, toast) in the wine.
For this wine I paid 21 EUR at Enoliteca in Montepulciano. On the winery site it sells for 19.50 EUR.
Country: Italy
Region: Tuscany
Grapes: Sangiovese/Prugnolo Gentile
Type: Red
Vintage: 2019
Producer: Toppetta
Price range: Medium (15-30 US$)
Pascal’s Enjoyment Index: 3/5