Suppose you were asked to pick a few classic but affordable red wines from Tuscany. Little chance you would choose a Chianti Classico or Brunello di Montalcino because the best of these wines are costly now. You might include a few overachievers from Rosso di Montalcino, Morellino di Scansano or even just Chianti. But only a scant few would pick a Vino Nobile di Montepulciano – one of the smallest DOCGs in Tuscany, with only 1,300 hectares of vines and arguably a lukewarm afterthought for Tuscan wines.
After years of struggling as the more rustic sibling of the better-recognized Chianti Classico and the well-respected Brunello, we find there has been a minor renaissance of quality around the quiet and small town of Montepulciano, some 100 kilometers from the vineyards of Chianti in the north and a 40-minute drive from Montalcino in the west.
Not so different from Barolo, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano has a glorious history to recount. In his 1865 poem “Bacchus in Tuscany,” the Italian physician and poet Francesco Redi praised the local Montepulciano pour as “the King of Wines,” and so the term Vino Nobile (“noble wine’) became the appellation, suggesting an aristocratic, superior quality. Despite a downturn of quality in the 1970s, when regulations were loose and wines were rather dilute and rustic, in 1980 Vino Nobile became one of the first four appellations bestowed with the superior status of DOCG, along with Barolo, Brunello di Montalcino and Barbaresco.
After several tightenings of DOCG law, the designation is now limited to wine from vineyards of 250-600 meters above sea level, with a minimum of 12.5 percent alcohol and 70 percent prugnolo gentile (sangiovese) and aged at least two years before release, with one of those aging years done in wooden vessels. While the tighter regulations have assured a steady improvement in their quality, their “noble” aspect had not been quite as fully teased out until recently, when some serious producers decided to step up their games.
In 2017, six like-minded Montepulciano winemakers created a small association called Alliance Vinum, aiming to bring their small region’s best wines to the international arena and highlight the “noble” quality through the purest expression of single-vineyard sangiovese. The six – Boscarelli, Avignonesi, Dei, Poliziano, La Braccesca, and Salcheto – were united in their quest to restore Nobile’s “badge of honor,” as they put it.
Every year since, they have produced a pure sangiovese wine from a specific terroir to represent the best they have to offer. Ingeniously, they simply call these wines Nobile instead of the lengthier “Vino Nobile di Montepulciano” – a name that is probably too long for consumers outside of Italy and too easily confused with Montepulciano d’Abruzzo.
Regardless, over the last few years we have noticed a step up in quality for Montepulcianos, with greater depth of flavors and fresher transparency. We believe the focus on 100 percent sangiovese that expresses a sense of place is the right move to take in order to re-establish the Nobile status of Montepulciano’s wine. After all, it is a grape that efficiently transmits the essentials of terroir to the glass when it is not overpowered by heavier grapes or diluted by the lesser, more rustic ones. Below are some of the top Vinos Nobiles we know come in a down-to-earth package under $30.
– Zekun Shuai, Associate Editor
Dei Vino Nobile di Montepulciano 2017 – JS94
Vivino: $26.99
Wine.com: $29
Leone d’oro Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Figli d’Italia 2015 – JS94
Totalwine.com: $21.49
Avignonesi Vino Nobile di Montepulciano 2016 – JS93
Vivino: $21.99
Wine.com: $28.99
Boscarelli Vino Nobile di Montepulciano 2018 – JS93
International Price: $29
Casa Vinicola Triacca Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Santavenere 2016 – JS92
International Price: $16
De’ Ricci Vino Nobile di Montepulciano 2017 – JS92
KLWines.com: $19.99
Fattoria del Cerro Vino Nobile di Montepulciano 2017 – JS92
Vivino: $22.04
Icario Vino Nobile di Montepulciano 2016 – JS92
International Price: $24
La Braccesca Vino Nobile di Montepulciano 2017 – JS92
Vivino: $27.99
Poliziano Vino Nobile di Montepulciano 2017 – JS92
Vivino: $26.99
Wine.com: $27.99
Talosa Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Riserva 2015 – JS92
International Price: $24
