“Perfectissimo.” That is what the pope’s wine steward wrote in his notes after tasting wine here in the 1500s. Five centuries later, the verdict hasn’t changed.
Montepulciano sits between two UNESCO valleys – Val d’Orcia to the south, Val di Chiana to the east. It has been producing wine since at least the 8th century, and in 1980 became the first wine in Italy to receive DOCG status – the highest classification Italian wine can earn. That wine is Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, made from Prugnolo Gentile, a local clone of Sangiovese that grows here and essentially nowhere else. Minimum two years of aging, at least one in oak barrel. The name Vino Nobile – noble wine – was never marketing. It was a descriptor.
The town is a straight climb from Porta al Prato to Piazza Grande at the top, lined with Renaissance palaces. The town hall was commissioned by Cosimo de’ Medici to mirror the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence – except almost nobody knows it exists. Climb its tower for a 360-degree view over both valleys. On a clear day you can see Siena.
Stop at the Tempio di San Biagio just below the walls before you leave. Church in the foreground, hill town rising behind it. Go at sunset.
Where to eat
Caffe Poliziano – breakfast
Osteria Aquacheta – pici and bistecca
Osteria del Borgo – local with valley views
Altro Cantuccio – fine dining
Underground cellars:
Cantina Ercolani – free tour and tasting, no reservation needed
Cantina Contucci – on Piazza Grande, Renaissance cellars
Winery outside town
Avignonesi – 175-hectare biodynamic estate, tour and paired lunch, book ahead, closed on Sundays.
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