Vino Nobile di Montepulciano: Making Wine in The New Normal (Oct 2023) | Vinous
vinous.com/articles/vino-nobile-di-montepulciano-making-wine-in-the-new-normal-oct-2023
BY ERIC GUIDO | OCTOBER 12, 2023
Returning to Montepulciano warms my heart. Not only has the region moved forward byleaps and bounds qualitatively, but also in communication, marketing and, most importantly,a willingness to better understand their terroir. Going back only five years ago, there wereonly a handful of wineries worth keeping tabs on, but that number has grown substantially.Much of this concerns a paradigm shift amongst producers who have realized thatconsumers crave a more transparent Vino Nobile that focuses on Tuscany’s primary variety,Sangiovese, and less on the heavy use of oak and significant additions of internationalvarieties. As a result, Italy’s first DOCG wine has made a serious comeback, and the futureappears to be very bright.
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2019 Nobile di Montepulciano Riserva Vallocaia
Release Price: $70
Color: Red
92
Drinking Window: 2025 - 2033
Eric Guido, July 2023
The 2019 Nobile di Montepulciano Riserva Vallocaia opens with a spicy bouquet, mixingmedicinal cherries with cedar and cloves. It's velvety in texture and lifted in feel, with polishedred fruits and brisk acidity that adds a pinch of tension near the close. Grippy tannins framethe licorice-tinged finale as the 2019 finishes with a primary concentration of tart berries andexotic spice.
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2020 Nobile di Montepulciano I Quadri
Release Price: $45
Color: Red
91
Drinking Window: 2025 - 2030
Eric Guido, July 2023
The 2020 Nobile di Montepulciano I Quadri, a varietal Sangiovese, lifts with a pretty blend ofdusty rose, dried strawberries and mint. It's soft and soothing with plush red berry fruits andsaline mineral tones that add a more tactile feel toward the close. This finishes long andstructured, yet its tannins are sweet and refined, as sweet herbal tones and spice hintsslowly fade. Nicely done.
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