“All The Right Notes”: 2015/2016 Montevertine
Posted on: 01/10/19 3:05 PM
Few offerings gather as much interest and enthusiasm as those from Martino Manetti’s beloved Montevertine. Back in October we released the duo of 2016 Pian del Ciampolo and the 2015 Montevertine. Already wildly popular no matter the vintage, the 2015 and 2016(two exceptional years for Tuscany) were especially sought after. We’re thankful (and lucky) to offer you a rare second round to increase your stock on two of our favorite Italian bottles released this year.
Hauntingly elegant and pure, Mr. Manetti’s wines continue to remind us why we cherish and collect Italian wine. With its supple tannin and sweet fruit, I have never met a customer that could resist Pian del Ciampolo’s charms. The 2016 is the most delightful expression of this wine we’ve tasted in years. The 97 point over accomplished “middle child” wine (the 2015 Montevertine) should be included in any serious collector’s library. Period.
2016 Pian del Ciampolo Rosso di Toscana
“The 2016 Pian del Ciampolo exudes class and a level of delineation that distinguishes it stylistically (but not qualitatively) from the 2015. Fresh and beautifully nuanced, the 2016 hits all the right notes. A closing burst of lavender, rose petal and mint punctuates the vibrant finish.” 90-92 Points, Antonio Galloni
2015 Montevertine Rosso di Toscana $56 NET
“Rich, pliant and super-expressive, the 2015 Montevertine is shaping up to be a magnificent wine. There is a radiance to the 2015 that is impossible to miss. At the same time, it’s wonderfully polished, with more than enough freshness and overall structure to support many years of exceptional drinking. Red stone fruit and expressive floral notes give the wine much of its distinctive personality. The 2015 Montevertine is a real head-turner.” 94-97 Points, Antonio Galloni
More About the Wine
Let’s quickly talk about what exactly are these two wines are. Mr. Manetti believes Pian del Ciampolo is “a wine of the people; the kind of wine a native Tuscan loves inherently.” With its supple tannin and sweet fruit, I have never met a person that could resist’s its charms. The Pian del Ciampolo vineyard—a 1.5-hectare parcel of limestone—comprises the bulk of the wine, with smaller plots in “Selvole,” “Il Casino,” and “Borro ai Colli” rounding out the blend. “The 2016 Pian del Ciampolo is arresting in its elegance, offering a pure and direct nose of sappy cherry, lavender, and classic Sangiovese warm-earth,” reports importer Neal Rosenthal. “The palate exudes a sense of effortless balance, with fruit simultaneously rich and taut, a grace note of savory spice, and a crystal-clear, self-assured acidity that is very much a hallmark of classic Montevertine.”
The Montevertine Rosso is the “middle child” from the estate and in many ways is the flagship of the winery. The grapes are picked from a variety of parcels, primarily from the Montevertine plot itself which is 2.5 hectares of south-southeast exposition planted in 1982. Regarding the 2015 bottling, Neal Rosenthal reports the wine carries “an immense concentration of structural elements that, miraculously, do nothing to compromise the wine’s supreme sense of elegance. Fruits are pitched slightly blacker than in a more typical vintage, and a current of smoke-tinged ultra-dense black cherry fruit underlines the vintage’s intensely solar character… This wine demands a few years of patience, and it should make extraordinarily old bones.”
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