The sun shone all week as we continued our vinous and gastronomic exploration of Umbria and Southern Tuscany.
Despite all my efforts to reduce the amount of food on the menus, white flags were still being waved far too early! By the end of the tours we will be down to bit of dry bread and a cantucci biscuit.
Cantina Dionigi really set the scene on Thursday. 15 wines at an average of 15%…..my appeals not to drink everything fell on deaf ears.
This was a masterclass in the diversity of the Sagrantino and Grecchetto grapes that you discover in Montefalco.
The fine wines of Montalcino were discovered at Poggio San Polo on Friday. Situated in an unbelievably beautiful spot in the hills, this estate has been energised by the Allegrini family and is producing some sumptuous wines.
We had the great opportunity to taste 2012 and 2013 from the barrel – a terrific exercise in understanding vintage variation – and the worked our way through the current releases.
After a light lunch of fresh pici pasta and a selection of meats and cheeses overlooking the beautiful town of Montepulciano we headed over to Alfonso Baldetti – the pioneer of the Cortona DOC where we tasted some fascinating Syrah and some amazing Vin Santo.
Saturday was a big day! After appearing to take the bus down a one way track only to find a building site at the end of it, Tim looked to be in trouble…..Fear not as Giovanni from Cantina Cenci emerged and took us on an adventure around his organic vineyards.
A tiny estate with production of just 20,000 bottles we savoured delicious wines with home made salumi, cheese from the local farm and mama’s bread.
Everyone had piled into the generous morning portions of food and wine and yet lunch was just round the corner. Federico and Jennifer at Terre Margaritelli are delightful hosts and Jennifer is a superb chef.
Great wines, amazing lunch and there was no limit to the amount everyone seemed able to force down. I warned them that dinner was coming soon.
Only the most heroic did justice to our dinner at La Taverna – a wonderful finale to our tour.