Poliziano Vino Nobile di Montepulciano 2020

This Vino Nobile di Montepulciano DOCG comes from the slopes of Montepulciano, in the province of Siena, in south-east Tuscany. The 47 hectares dedicated to this cuvée rise in tiers from 300 to 450 metres above sea level, on clay-silt soils with a moderate amount of stones. Sangiovese, known here as Prugnolo Gentile, finds an ideal setting to express depth, freshness and Tuscan character alike.

The grapes are harvested by hand, then optically sorted. Fermentation and maceration take place over 15 to 20 days in truncated-cone stainless-steel tanks. The wine is then aged for around 12 to 14 months in wood: two thirds in French oak barrels and one third in large casks.

This wine reveals notes of morello cherry, red plum, red berries, black cherry, black pepper, fine spices, garrigue, pine, smoke, crushed stone and citrus. The palate is silky and broad, carried by fresh acidity and a mineral backbone. Fine, slightly chalky and delicately gripping tannins frame a long, savoury and spicy finish.

Ah, Italy, what a beautiful hedonistic country, home of the Dolce Vita, but how hard it is to understand how its wine is organised! The key to understanding Italy's appellation system is to think of it as several small countries rather than a single uniform one, since each region has its own appellation system. Yet Italy can offer wine lovers a multitude of wines with varied and unique flavours and styles, as well as bottles full of surprise and creativity. Unfortunately it also produces a large quantity of soulless, characterless wines sold under their most useful and commercially renowned names: Pinot Grigio, Chianti, Valpolicella, Lambrusco, Prosecco and many others... But let us talk a little history: winegrowing in Italy goes back to the most distant antiquity and originated in Greece. The Etruscans are said to have introduced the vine, and Greek immigrants improved and changed the grape varieties, later calling the country "Oenotria": the land of wine. At the height of the Roman Empire, wine held an important place in daily life, and some regions already stood out for the excellence of their produce. The Romans also planted many vineyards across Europe, leaving an indelible mark of their conquests. Today Italy is the largest wine producer in the world, ahead of France. Italy is divided into three climatic zones. The northern mountains have a fairly harsh mountain climate. The plain in the "middle of the boot" has a continental climate with cold winters and hot, stormy summers. The "south of the boot" enjoys a Mediterranean climate with very hot, very dry summers, not forgetting the islands of Sicily and Sardinia. In short, Italy produces a great variety of wines thanks to its 200 different grape varieties, many of them native to its land. It is a country just as complex as its wines, and well worth exploring!