Vino Nobile Diaries: Tasting the Essence of Italy

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I use this wine key: Forge de Laguiole Ebony
I have used this glass in this Video: Zieher “Fresh”
I have tasted the following wines in this Video:

2018 La Braccesca Maggiarino Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Italy
https://www.wine-searcher.com/find/marchesi+antinori+la+braccesca+maggiarino+docg+nobile+di+montepulciano+tuscany+italy/2018?referring_site=KSB

2018 Salcheto Vecchie Viti del Salco Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Italy
https://www.wine-searcher.com/find/salcheto+vecchie+viti+salco+docg+nobile+di+montepulciano+tuscany+italy/2018?referring_site=KSB

2018 Boscarelli Costa Grande Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Italy
https://www.wine-searcher.com/find/boscarelli+costa+grand+docg+nobile+di+montepulciano+tuscany+italy/2018?referring_site=KSB

2018 Poliziano Le Caggiole Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Italy
https://www.wine-searcher.com/find/poliziano+le+caggiole+docg+nobile+di+montepulciano+tuscany+italy/2018?referring_site=KSB

2018 Avignonesi Poggetto di Sopra Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Italy
https://www.wine-searcher.com/find/avignonesi+poggetto+di+sopra+nobile+montepulciano+docg+tuscany+italy/2018?referring_site=KSB

It is the essence of Italy. Its name is a reference to Jupiter -the god of the sky and chief deity of Rome – and good Sangiovese can taste heavenly, but it only really performs at the highest level at home.
The heart of the Sangiovese production beats in Tuscany – one of the most beautiful regions of Italy and I decided to dive deep into a wine region that has dedicated itself to producing complex wines with this noble grape variety- The Wine is called Vino Nobile di Montepulciano.
To get this out of the way right from the start: Vino Nobile di Montepulciano or Vino Nobile translates to the Noble wine from the town of Montepulciano. It has nothing to do with the grape variety Montepulciano which is for example grown in Abruzzo.
So if you want to get to the source of Vino Nobile you have to come to the old town of Montepulciano. It is located in Tuscany, roughly 100 km south of Florenz.
Montepulciano’s history goes back to the 4th century BC and it is a tourist attraction today with many wine shops, restaurants, and scenic views … you can sit on a stone bench to rest after a day of tasting wine.
I just missed the Bravio delle Botti a festival that includes an uphill race of people pushing wine barrels to the main square an event that really can only take place that has a deep-rooted wine culture.
Vino Nobile became one of Tuscany’s most famous wines when in 1685, Renaissance poet Francesco Redi called it the “King of all wines” in his poem “Bacco in Toscana”.
This is kinda like Jay Z rapping about his favorite Champagne Brand today.
I first came into contact with Vino Nobile when I was a student in Florence. I went to a shop and asked for a nice bottle of wine. Or as I called it in my broken Italian: “Una bounna bottiglia di vino rosso” and left the shop with a bottle of Avignonesi’s Rosso di Montepulciano – effectively the second wine of the estate.
I was fascinated back then by the freshness and liveliness of the wine that combined intense cherry fruit character, with black tea notes and a lively texture.
The Rosso represents the entry-level at most estates. It is a fresh and fruit-driven wine usually made for immediate consumption and It usually is very good value giving you an introduction to the style of the region.
That is not to say that the “REAL” Vino Nobile is expensive. I would argue that it is one of the cheapest classic wine styles in Italy. While the prices for top wines from the north and also from neighboring regions in Tuscany have gone up significantly, Vino Nobile’s prices have stayed fairly stable.
Vino Nobile has to contain at least 70% Sangiovese – which is also called Prugnolo Gentile in the region. Growers can blend in other red and white grape varieties but the trend is more towards using higher shares of up to 100% of Sangiovese to produce a pure expression of that grape variety and the region.
I was invited to come to the region by Alliance Vinum, a group of some of the best producers of vino Nobile and they have set out to produce great Sangiovese from top vineyards in the region.
So 15 years after my first contact with Vino Nobile it was time for me to travel there, revive my memories, and find out what makes this place special.
I came to the region during harvest which is a magical time for me. The excitement about the incoming grapes was palpable at every winery I visited, and I got to witness all the joy without having to go through the backbreaking labor and sleepless nights the winemakers have to deal with.

It is the essence of Italy its name is a reference to Jupiter the god of the sky and chief deity of Rome and good sanesa can taste Heavenly but it only really performs at the highest level at home the heart of the sanesa production beats in Tuscany one of the most beautiful

Parts of Italy and I decided to dive deep into a wine region that has dedicated itself to producing wines with this Noble variety the wine is called Vin no de monano and to get this out of the way right away Vin no de monano translates to the noble

Wine from the town of Monte Pano it has nothing to do with wines made from the great variety Monte Pano in places like for example abuto so if you want to get to the source of vob you have to come to the Old Town of Monte Pano which is

Located in Tuscany roughly 100 km south of Florence Monte Pano’s history goes back to the fourth Century BC it is a tourist attraction today with many wine shops restaurants and Scenic views and you can just go there and sit on a stone bench after a long day of tasting wine I

Just missed the bravio deoti a festival that includes a race of people pushing wine barrels uphill to the main Square that’s really something that can only take place somewhere where there is a deepr rooted wine culture Von no became one of Italy’s most famous Wines in 1685 when Renaissance poet Franchesco RI

Called it the king of all Wines in his poem Bako in Toscana which is kind of like Jay-Z rapping about his favorite champagne brand today I first came into contact with Vino no when I was a student in Florence I went to a shop to

Buy a bottle of wine or as I called it in my broken Italian unab bino Roso and I left the shop with a bottle of AIS Roso Deon Pano effectively the second wine of the estate I was fascinated by the freshness and liveliness of the wine that combined

Ripe cherry fruit flavors with black teen nodes and an intense structure Roso Deon Pano represents the entry level at most Estates it’s usually a fresh and fruit driven wine made for immediate consumption and it is usually really good value giving you a good introduction into the region that is not

To say that the real Vino no is expensive I would argue it’s one of the cheapest classic wine styles from from Italy while the prices for ones from the north and from other neighboring regions in Tuscany have gone up significantly the prices for venon have stayed fairly

Stable over the years Von no has to contain at least 70% of sanjo Vasa which is also called pinolo gentia in the region Growers can blend in other red and white grape varieties but the trend is more towards using high levels of sanesa of up to 100% in order to produce

A more pure expression of that great Variety in that region I was invited to come to the region by Alliance Venom a group of some of the best producers of Vino NOA and they’ve set out to produce pure expressions of sanjo vesa from some of the best sites in the region so 16

Years after my first contact with Von no it was time for me to travel there revive my memories and find out what makes this place special I came to the region during Harvest which is a magical time the excitement about the incoming grapes was palpable at every Winery I

Visited and I got to witness all the joy without having to go through the backbreaking labor and sleepless nights that the wine makers have to deal with my first stop was lab chesca the winery belongs to the famous antinori family and it covers 500 hectares of land of

Which 340 hectar are planted to Vines the antinori family is from Tuscany and they own many high-end wineries in Italy and abroad they acquired laesa in 1990 and they’ve built an impressive wine seller at the estate first we went into the vineyard St where a team of harvest

Workers picked the ripe sanesa grapes and brought them back into the winery the smell of the grapes the juice and the fermenting wine was delicious but not quite as delicious as tasting the finished wine in The Tasting Room overlooking the estate Sarah ponesi theologist at the estate talked to me

About Vino no and also shared her frustration about people confusing Vin no with monteano duto they can understand that when you find noil monano is in chasani and is nothing with Monte duto but is a special appellation in tasani Sarah also makes one at the other anori Estates and therefore has a

Pretty good overview over the different regions growing sanesa she thinks that Vino no tends to be most structured but therefore also more age-worthy she also believes that it is important to focus on pure sanesa in order to bring out the typicity and style of Veno no we really

Think uh that for having an identity in variety like sanes you must be 100% sanes uh and uh I quite sure that in Monte Pano we have the instruments to do to do the is at saeto I was introduced to the owner Mika Manelli who showed me around the estate

While explaining his exciting approach to wine making to me psycho in the ancient Tuscan language was the name of a willow tree whose branches were used to tie the vines and the tree features prominently on the label of the estate sakto is also the name of a stream that

Runs through Monte Pano and as you can see from the name alone there’s quite a lot of importance given to Nature here at the estate mik go through long lengths to reduce the impact of the winery on the environment finding the way to use all the wases of pruning to

Create energy uh geothermal Fields under the vineyard and the parking lot to create again some cool uh cool Energy Systems but also of course some photovolatic I mean a lot of solution to to integrate it in in a in in a single project to to to to to achieve this uh

This uh self-sufficiency the winery is underground but they don’t use electricity to light it instead they’ve developed light worlds that funnel the light underground into the sellers they also use lightweight bottles which is in my opinion an easy win in order to reduce carbon emissions and costs without impacting the Wine’s quality mik

Is a firm believer in producing pure sanra vesa and he actually let me in on a secret of his when I started wine making in Monte Pano I was illegal because I was 100% sanes and in it became legal only 98 in the past Von no like other traditional red wines from

Tuskin relied heavily on blending in other grape varieties in order to ensure consistent qualities today this safety net is not as important anymore as sanesa ripens more reliably and can produce outstanding wines without blending in other grapes at sakto they practice poly culture growing vegetables in their Gardens and raising geese that

They can then sell at their restaurant indeno there’s no better way to experience the beauty of Agriculture than to eat a beautiful meal paired with great wines knowing that everything on the table came from the same place even though some might find it a bit dark to eat perfectly prepared Goose dishes

While hearing the gaggle of the geese honking in the vicinity the next day I visited boscarelli and the story of this smaller Winery started in 1962 and the estate was built by paa and iito de Ferrari iito died early in an accident and paa took over the business

No easy task for a single mother of two in the80s but paa persevered and built one of the most impressive wineries in the region today Luca and Nicolo run the estate and we walk The Vineyards together witnessing the Harvest everything was a little bit smaller and more artisinal here and Nicolo even told

Me that he built some of the wooden structures at the winery luuka took me to their famous IL noo Vineyard where we talked about the differences in Tera between Von no and other growing regions in Tuscany the riping ripening of the of the tennis is really slow are not burn

From the the the Sun and are really stable if you taste Aon no with 30 40 years you have a more live color compared other wines from the Tas I was invited for lunch at their house and what could be better than to eat at home in Italy especially when the host reach

Deep into their seller in order to bring out some older vintages they kindly opened the 2004 2001 and 91 vintages of their V monteano Reserva for me and the 91 still showed really well it was turning garet towards the rim and it definitely showed signs of aging but it

It kept it together while 2001 and 2004 were still beautiful we talked about wine making and they spent a lot of time on the blend especially Luca Works meticulously when deciding on the final wine I I never convinced about the wine so I organize the blending the tasting

Blind it takes six months to decide the final blend of of a wine their ones are balanced and Rich and show more polished tannant Nicolo describes them as pure pure pure it’s pure yeah is we we we try to to express what we have we don’t

Force to have a different thing that the one the one that that our land could produce they believe the region needs a clearer identity to make them more understandable for the general public the character of this wine that has a long history in the past was really

Famous in the ancient in the in the century is the energy of the one of the grape of this area we need to share an idea of vob you has to be full rich and then then dark or back perhaps some years back thinking perhaps Von noet standard vobet to be lighter more

Approachable easier long potential of Aging but a wine that you drink easily and then we have reserv US Special selection P Cru all the rest the wi are visited were all family businesses and as everywhere it is important to hand over the passion for Vin no to the Next Generation and

That is clearly the case at poano poano was founded in 1961 by Dino kti who planted the first Vineyards in Italian a person from the town of Monte Pano is called a poano and the most famous poano was ano ambrogini who was a scholar and poet during the Florentine Renaissance

And his face is today on the logo of poano Frederico kti took over the winery in the 1970s and grew it to 170 hectar of Vineyards but now his children are taking over it was great to hear the plans of Maria Stella and Franchesco for the winery and the region as a whole

They’ve spent time abroad and soaked up ideas and Concepts that they are planning to put into practice at home I went to Australia all right okay this year actually in February okay so in the beginning of the yeah yeah yeah it’s my second 2023 vintage they’re looking at

Breaking up The Vineyards in order to understand their teroa better and they have identified their azona Vineyard as the one with the highest quality the one is therefore bottled separately part of their approach is also to focus on 100% pure sanesa wines as they explained in the conversation and I think that brings

Us to the alliance the new project of the consortio and and this will of producers for our multiple channel to focus specifically more on the vineyard on the location and the 100% San to find a location which was capable of making 100% San was hard in a very expressive

Manner was was tremendously difficult they see the opportunity to build on their father’s work in order to take vob to the next level since we have this amazing tradition this amazing history this amazing terar um and all these years of experience now uh we we can claim that we are capable of producing

100% SES wines that are really uh you know great quality and something very unique in the world they also describe the difference between Vino no and Brunello as follows you know we we we live a little bit Souther than K class and we’re not as close as they are to

The mountains which cross Italy so so our climate is generally a little bit warmer than the theirs uh and that has a an impact on the quality of the Sano um our climate tends to be a little bit more Continental we do have a more Oster and crunchy I like to say crunchy

For you know know I think it describes it really well which is very different from you know the acidity driven dry kti Classico and you know the more the wormer and uh more aged Bello I often ask wine makers what they drink apart from their own wines as I think it’s

Quite important to see what’s going on in the rest of the world and I found it really nice to hear that they like to drink wines from all over the place in order to further their education and discuss the wine no we are we’re we’re drinking a bit of everything right now

We’ve started like not not many years ago so we we’re still learning a lot so we’re planning trips around uh we’re going to pment in in a month or so and we’re we’re trying everything really right now we’re experimenting that’s uh that’s for sure the first v no I tasted

Years ago during my time in Florence was from aeni so it made a lot of sense that the last last stop of my trip through Monte Pano was at the estate where it all started the avioni estate is historic with expansive Sellers and several buildings for wine making aging

And tourism they even have a chapel with a stone statue inside that’s scared the beesus out of me the famed estate does not rest on its Laurels especially since virgin sais took over as an owner they’ve banned the use of synthetic biocides in Winery and The Vineyards

Have stopped the use of commercial yeast have lowered greenhouse gas emissions and bottle weight while focusing on indigenous grape varieties and producing elegant and expressive wines at the estate this is quite a challenge for any winery but especially for a large operation like aveni cultivating 175 hectares of Vineyards in the sell they

Use many different types and formats of vessels including concrete eggs aoras wooden barrels and stainless steel I spent my day with theologist matio Jani and agronomist alesio gorini during a vertical tasting of their top wine projetto D sopra it became clear to me that their use of Oak has changed away

From Smoky notes to more fruit driven precise wines San is very delicate especially in that area because we don’t have a lot of color and um if you’re going to use small barrels sometimes you’re going to smell just uh which is the tonary where you purchase the gra you purchase

The Barrow and mattio shared some real gems talking about the beauty of tasting wines through vintages I love the wine because with wine you can uh it’s like a library so you can taste uh different vintages and you have it’s like like a photo book you can see

Oh I remember I was in the 16 or 17 on the question of what the future of vob is mattio also had a really good answer we are lucky enough because we have an amazing soil and amazing climate because you cannot change the soil you cannot

Change the climate well we tried to we tried but it’s not a good direction I would say the future of no monan is just people because we have everything settled we have a story we have an amazing town we have an amazing soil we have an amazing climate that hope so is

Going to be resilient with the global warming so it’s a just matter to don’t stay in the comfort zone but move on the challenge together with viticulture expert alesio we had a closer look at the vineyard and discuss the topic of poolo gentia and on how much clonal

Selection impacts the quality of the final wine PR GTI um is a way of is the local way of calling the San the saniz profile it’s much more uh impacted to the place where it grows the climate the microclimate rather than the Clones even though I have to add that Nicolo from

Boscarelli actually believes that the clonal material has quite a big impact on the quality and style of sanes the feeling we have is that San is so big the family that it depends a lot by the selection of Clone you have mhm because we know that from from the muscle

Selection we have us to replant good a good percentage of the vineyard than the new clone we had experimented for some Vineyard as completely different results there are also differences in opinion when it comes to the best soil type for the production of Vino no but for alesio the

Answer was pretty clear I will say that the clay even though may bring a little bit of this chalkiness in the tannins it’s fundamental for uh growing doing a great s Vis at least for this for this for this area but if the clay is too dense it becomes difficult for the vines

This clay it’s it’s a aot it’s almost blue and it’s a limit for the vines to grow you can see uh if you dig a hole into the vineyard you can see the roots that from times to times that tend to get in but as those Clays cracks there’s

A lot of dead Roots into this clay also prepares their own compost which is a great way of bringing Vitality back into the soils a lot of life into the soil it brings humus it’s it’s something that uh helps the the soil to structure and um and it as well it has a

Huge impact then on the nutrients available the capacity of the water to the olding water capacity of the soil so the capacity of the water of the soil soil to retain moisture which is something uh more and more important nowadays and as well avoiding the erosion because as as much as I can

Improve the structure of the soil the less I have erosions on on the on the soil that makes a lot of sense and it’s a great way to help the nature but still he was rubbing manure between his hands at first I couldn’t quite get over the

Fact and then I obviously had to touch the stuff myself anyways I learned a lot during my time in Monte Pano and rediscovered the excitement that I felt when I first tasted a wine from the region there were many outstanding moments during my trip but the best was

Sitting together with all of the wine makers eating the food that they had prepared beforehand including the famous peachy pasta and sharing a few bottles of Vino no over dinner there’s definitely a lot of potential for the noble wine to raise to former glory especially if the people behind the wine

Continue to share their love for Vino no if you ever get the chance to try some you definitely should so thank you for watching I hope you enjoyed this video if you did then please like it down here subscribe to my channel if you haven’t done so already my question of the day

Is have you ever tasted v no did you like it or not let me know Down Below in the comments I hope I see you guys again very soon until then stay thirsty N