Region: Toscana IGT, Italy
Varietal: 45% Sangiovese, 35% Montepulciano, 15% Alicante and 5% Marselan

Tasting Notes: Blackcurrant and cherry aromas with fresh flowers and orange peel follow through to a medium to full body with ultra-fine tannins that are integrated beautifully in the wine, leaving a bright, focused impression. Attractive to drink now, but will show even more quality in 2023 and onwards.

Pairing: Pair with grilled meat, aged cheeses, and regional cuisines such as rich sausage and white bean dishes, braised beef or veal dishes, or anything loaded with garlic and rosemary! For an absolutely classic Italian dinner serve this wine alongside this Veal Parmesan by Melissa Clark. You will go to bed happy and full no doubt!

About: Tucked away in the hills of Suvereto near Bolgheri on the Tuscan Coast – one of the hottest areas in Tuscany – is the 15-acre Montepeloso estate. The winemaker, Fabio Chiarelotto, admits about his wine that it’s “easy to produce concentrated wines in such a hot climate…but it’s much harder to achieve elegance and finesse.” In order to take full advantage of the terroir’s potential, he overhauled the vineyards in 1997. Chiarelotto spent years reshaping Montepeloso's vineyards, retraining, regrafting and replanting hectares of unsuitable varieties in order to best match vines to the site's clay soils, proximity to the ocean, and warm, windy weather. In the cellar, he does relatively short macerations, employs natural yeasts during fermentation, and bottles without filtration.
The fruit is manually harvested using small baskets. Grapes are 100% destemmed. The wine macerates for 14-22 days. Fermentation occurs in 1,500-liter and 3,000-liter steel tanks. The wine ages for 18 months in second and third passage French barrels and another 18 months in bottle before release. Malolactic fermentation occurs in French oak barrels. It is not filtered.
The estate has been owned by Fabio Chiarelotto since 1998, and is known for its Toscana IGT blends from various native Italian and French varieties including Sangiovese, Montepulciano, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon.
Production will gradually increase as the young vineyards reach maturity. For now, these remain among Italy’s elite rarities.