I am often out of the country doing wine tour research in February and March and this year is no exception. Umbria and Southern Tuscany were my destinations recently and while I struggle to convince people that what I do is hard work, it has to be said that this region is still beautiful despite the driving rain, freezing fog and incessant potholes of the Italian roads that I endured.
Cortona, Montepulciano and Montalcino
As you drive round the beautiful Lake Trasimeno from Perugia you cross into Tuscany near the town of Cortona. This is a very interesting and relatively new DOC wine region founded in 1999 where unusually, Syrah is allowed, along with other international grape varieties and only a nod to the more traditional Sangiovese. It is establishing itself slowly as a high quality region yet remains in the shadow of its famous neighbour – Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. This is one of Tuscany’s most famous wine names where Sangiovese holds court and the typical wine is intense, concentrated and full bodied. I visited the excellent Tenuta Valdipiatta where Miriam Caporali runs the family business. Beautifully balanced wines with great ageing ability are produced here.
From Montepulciano you head west towards the famous hilltop town of Montalcino – home to the legendary wines of Brunello di Montalcino. This is perhaps the fullest bodied style of Sangiovese. The region is just that little bit hotter than Chianti and the terrain is steep – allowing the glorious, hilly vineyards to soak up every moment of sunshine and maximise the ripeness of the grapes. Brunello wines are renowned for their longevity and the best examples can last 50 years or more. The traditional wines are characterised by long ageing in large Slovenian barrels for several years. We recently tasted at Richmond & Teddington Wine Societies the Brunello di Montalcino 2008 Poggio San Polo. Still youthful – it had magnificent depth of spicy fruit and great complexity.