Wines of Cinque Sorelle
Cinque Sorelle is located in the heart of the central Tuscan wine regions. It is easy to reach all three of the most famous wine regions, Chianti, Brunello and Vino Nobile. Other DOC have been established recently, adding even more interesting wines to the regional pallet.
Wine tasting, as it is known in America is a relatively recent development in Italy, where wine is an integral part of a meal, a food. Lovely new wine tasting rooms have been added to major wineries. Check the websites of the wineries you want to visit for hours. The majority of wineries do sell directly to visitors, often in informal cantina settings, hosted by the wine maker or family members. Look for signs that say venditto diretto, to find local producers. Be prepared to taste some wine and buy a bottle or two.
Wine tours are available from La Cornucopua Italia.
www.lacornucopiaitalia.com/
Wine Grapes of Central Tuscany:
Vino Nobile di Montepulciano
One of three great Sangiovese DOCG zones in Tuscany (along with Chianti Classico and Brunello di Montalcino) and certainly the oldest and the smallest.
Montepulciano wine was first documented in 789 AD when a cleric, Arnipert, offered the church of San Silvestre some vineyards attached to the castle of Policiano; in his `Historical & Geographical Dictionary of Tuscany’ Repetti mentions the trade in Montepulciano wines from 1350. In the mid-16th century Pope John III’s cellarman praised the region’s wine as `perfect in both winter and summer; aromatic, fleshy, never sour nor brightly-coloured, because it is a wine fit for a Nobleman’ while in his ode `Bacchus in Tuscany’ (1685) Redi triumphantly proclaims that `Montepulciano is the king of all wines!’ Despite all this, wines from Montepulciano clearly lost their lustre in the 19th century when they were mostly labeled and sold as Chianti. With the creation of the Vino Nobile di Montepulciano DOC in the 1960s, and its promotion to DOCG status in 1980, however, the region’s identity and focus was firmly restored.
The Vino Nobile di Montepulciano DOCG covers only 820ha - compared to 12,000ha for Brunello di Montalcino and 7,000ha for Chianti Classico. Located in the hilltop town of Montepulciano and its surrounding vineyards lie at between 250m and 600m altitude. The finest vineyards are situated about 300m above sea-level on south-east facing slopes made up of a mix of sandy, gravelly, clay soils.
Sangiovese and Prugnolo Gentile (a more open, larger-berried clone of Sangiovese) account for at least 70% of the blend along with a maximum 20% Canaiolo and a maximum 20% from other permitted varieties. The latter include the highly regarded local variety, Mammolo, prized for its plummy perfume yet sadly increasingly losing out to international varieties like Merlot.
The maximum yield for Vino Nobile di Montepulciano is 56 hl/ha and the wine must be aged for 2 years from 1st January after the harvest, either entirely in oak, or 18 months in oak and 6 months in bottle, or 12 months in oak, 6 months in bottle and 6 months in other storage. Riserva wines must have a minimum alcohol content of 13% and must be aged for 3 years. All wines must be bottled within the commune of Montepulciano and must have a minimum dry extract of 23 g/l.
Stylistically, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano combines the richness of Brunello di Montalcino with the perfume of Chianti Classico. Without the limestone spine of other top Tuscan sites, the wines tend to be medium to full-bodied with firm tannins, lively acidity, fleshy strawberry and cherry fruit and hints of tea leaves. The best examples should age 8 to 15 years while Riservas can last for over two decades.
Brunello di Montalcino
Brunello di Montalcino is Tuscany’s most famous DOCG (along with Chianti) and the region’s boldest expression of Sangiovese. Brunello di Montalcino is located, with the hilltop town of Montalcino as its epicentre. Its 24,000ha of vines are naturally delimited by the Orcia, Asso and Ombrone valleys although only 50% of these can be used to make Brunello di Montalcino wine. Brunello is the local name for the Sangiovese Grosso clone from which Brunello di Montalcino should be made in purezza (100%).
The Brunello di Montalcino DOCG has a whale-like shape. At its head, at 661 metres above sea level on ancient stony/galestro soils facing east and south-east, lies the town of Montalcino where the DOC was founded. As you follow the spine south towards the tail the vineyards lose altitude - those around Colle Sant’Angelo are at 250 metres - while the soils become richer with iron and clay. Further east in the shadow of the 1734m high Mont’Amiata lies the village of Castelnuovo dell’Abate where the vineyards are strewn with a rich mix of galestro, granitic, volcanic, clay and schist soil types.
While Brunello di Montalcino’s climate is mildly Mediterranean thanks its proximity to the sea only 20 miles away, the elevation of the vineyards provides an important diurnal temperature variation (hot days, cool nights). This benefits the grapes by maintaining acidity levels and extending their ripening time. The howling `tramontana’ wind can also play an important role in drying and concentrating the fruit.
Historically the zone is one of Tuscany’s youngest. First praised in 1550 by Leandro Alberti for the quality of its wines, it was Tenuta Il Greppo who bottled the inaugural Brunello di Montalcino in 1888. By 1929 the region had 925 ha of vines and 1,243 ha of mixed crops, while in 1932 it was decreed that only those wines made and bottled within the commune could be labeled as Brunello di Montalcino. Since then, the number of producers has risen from 11 in 1960 to 230 in 2006, while over the same period the vineyards have expanded from 1,000 to 12,000ha. The region earned its DOC in 1966 and was upgraded to DOCG in 1980.
Brunello di Montalcino cannot be released for sale until five years after the harvest, or 6 years for Brunello di Montalcino Riserva. During this time the wines should be aged for at least 2 years in oak followed by at least 4 months in bottle (6 months for Riservas). Maximum yields are 55 hl/ha.
Chianti Classico
Chianti Classico is a leading Tuscan DOCG zone which covers approximately 7,000ha wrapping the area north, east and southeast of Siena, about 45 minutes north of Villa Maddalena. Its vineyards stretch into the Apennine foothills at between 150m and 500m altitude and encompass two distinct terroirs and styles. The sandy alluvial soils of the lower sites yield fuller, meatier wines while the limestone and galestro rocks of the higher vineyards deliver finer, more ethereal examples.
The origins of Chianti date back to the Middle Ages although Chianti Classico was really born in 1716 when Grand Duke Cosimo III of Tuscany classified the zone, identifying the villages of Radda, Greve, Panzano, Gaiole and Castellina as the leading sites. These same villages still represent the nucleus of the Chianti Classico DOCG today. The regulations have been revised, however, to insist that the wine is made from a minimum 80% Sangiovese and a maximum 20% Canaiolo and ‘ameliorative’ grapes (like Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon); from the 2006 vintage no white grapes are allowed.
Chianti Classico cannot be released until 1st October in the year following the harvest, while Chianti Classico Riserva must undergo 24 months of ageing before release, including at least 3 months in bottle. At the region’s top addresses, French barriques are gradually being adopted in the place of the traditional, larger Slavonian ‘botte’.
Reprinted from:
Bros & Rudd, wine merchants
www.bbr.com