Vino Nobile di Montepulciano

The rules trace wine at Montepulciano to the Etruscans: a kylix, a wine cup, was found in 1868 in an Etruscan tomb near the town. The oldest document dates from 789, when the cleric Arnipert gave the church of San Silvestro on Monte Amiata a vineyard in the castle of Policiano. A document of 1350 set terms for the trade and export of the wine. In the mid-1500s Sante Lancerio, cellarer to Pope Paul III, called it a wine for lords, and in his dithyramb Bacco in Toscana of 1685 Francesco Redi ended 'Montepulciano d'ogni vino è Re' (of every wine the king).

The first known use of the words 'Vino Nobile' is in a travel account of 1787. The rules record a first shipment to America in 1828, a practical school of agriculture in 1882, a cooperative cellar in 1937 and the producers' consortium in 1965. Vino Nobile became a DOC on 12 July 1966 and was among the first DOCG wines, by decree of 1 July 1980.

Apart from the floor of the Valdichiana, which is excluded, the whole commune lies in a band of hills from 250 to 600 m, and only well-exposed vineyards in that band qualify. The rules describe a fairly uniform substrate, distinct from nearby districts: mostly Pliocene marine sediments, with sand dominant at higher altitude, and, on the slopes toward the Valdichiana, soils on Early Pleistocene continental deposits; conglomerates appear in the east. Such sands, the rules note, are widespread in Tuscany only here and at San Gimignano, and almost absent at Montalcino and in Chianti Classico. Four soil groups are distinguished, from sandy Pliocene soils with low cation exchange to more productive soils on Pleistocene deposits.

The climate is Mediterranean. Rain averages about 690 mm, about 740 mm in the south, and falls mostly in October and November; summers are dry. The Winkler index is about 1,900, falling to 1,750 at the highest sites.

The rules cite zoning studies carried out since 1989 (Campostrini and Costantini, 1996), which found that the soils of the zone give Sangiovese characteristic notes of sour cherry (amarena), violet and spice. Winter and spring rain build a water reserve; scant summer rain, with July under 30 mm on average, causes a moderate shortage that favours ripening over leaf growth. Strong sun and heat in July and August bring even veraison, and in September and early October large day-night swings, especially at height, add aromatic and phenolic complexity. The wine is intense ruby turning garnet, with an intense, ethereal nose, very structured, balanced and elegant, with evident tannin that helps it keep.

Vino Nobile needs at least 70% Sangiovese (Prugnolo gentile); other varieties suited to Tuscany may make up 30%, with no more than 5% white grapes, and aromatic grapes are excluded except Malvasia bianca lunga. The wine matures at least two years from 1 January after the harvest, with the producer choosing 24 months in wood, at least 18 months in wood with the rest in other vessels, or at least 12 months in wood plus 6 in bottle. The Riserva needs grapes of 12.5% natural alcohol and three years' maturation, 6 months of them in bottle.

The mention Pieve, followed by one of twelve additional geographical units, requires at least 85% Sangiovese completed only by Canaiolo nero, Ciliegiolo, Mammolo and Colorino, vines at least 15 years old, grapes from the bottler's own vineyards, and three years' maturation including 12 months in wood and 12 in bottle. Winemaking and ageing must take place in the commune.