Vino Nobile: The Montepulciano That’s Not Montepulciano
-wait…montepulciano is a town AND a grape?
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Today let’s head to Central Italy to one of Tuscany’s sub-regions that creates a lot of confusion.
Vino Nobile di Montepulciano
Why the confusion?
Because Montepulciano is also a grape.
Makes sense to me.
Vino – wine
Nobile – noble
Translation: Noble wine made from the Montepulciano grape! This is child’s play, Eveline!
But here is the rub - the wines from Vino Nobile di Montepulciano are mainly made of Sangiovese grape.
Oh!
(awkward pause)
So why the name Montepulciano.
Because it is the name of the town at the heart of the sub-region.
Okay, that is super confusing. There is a Montepulciano grape and there is a town called Montepulciano… And you are telling me the grape is not grown in the sub-region of the same name...
Exactly.
Montepulciano: the grape is widely grown in Italy, but most of its plantings are in the Abruzzo and Marche regions. You may have heard the wine named Montepulciano d’Abruzzo. In that case Montepulciano is the grape and Abruzzo is the region.
Roger that!
Okay let’s move on to a mid-life crisis.
Psst … it’s quite a heavy topic for this Substack.
Not my mid-life crisis, silly – Peru Manvi’s mid-life crisis. I met Peru when he visited Cork last spring in Calgary. He really cracked me up with his proud discussion of existential crisis! This resulted in Peru and his wife Sudha leaving their successful banking careers and moving to Italy, following their passion for wine and yoga.
In October 2015, this Swiss/Canadian couple of Indian origins bought an existing winery in the Vino Nobile di Montepulciano sub-region making their dream a reality. They renamed it MANVI and their B&B is called The Grapevine by MANVI. And yes, they offer yoga classes!!
I am featuring their wine the Manvi Arya Vino Nobile di Montepulciano 2020 this week. It is so smooth and elegant that I ended up buying a second bottle. I rarely do that because I am always trying new wines for this Substack, but I really could not resist!
The word elegant confuses me in the context of wine.
Karen MacNeil, author of The Wine Bible, uses the terms finesse and refinement to define elegance in wines. I also really like how the head winemaker at St Hugo in South Australia describes the term elegance:
“Elegance is analogous to balance,” Pete explains, “where nothing stands out. I see elegance in wine – it is a word I use a bit – as something that is seamless. It doesn’t necessarily have to be light; it could be a full-bodied wine, but it has a seamless, even palate.”
This description above is particularly fitting for their Manvi Arya Vino Nobile di Montepulciano 2020.
Another wine that exists in the Montepulciano sub-region is the Rosso di Montepulciano. Just like in the Montalcino sub-region where Brunello di Montalcino and a Rosso di Montalcino are made, the Rosso version in Montepulciano is typically made with younger vines or perhaps vines that are not in the winery’s top vineyard. The Rosso’s offer wines at a lower price point that are less complex and not intended for long ageing. These complement a producer’s range of wines, and it does not mean that they are of poor quality. They can definitely still be at the very good to outstanding category.
Okay, full disclosure, I had forgotten about the wines of Montalcino. That adds to the confusion. I thought you were talking about the same sub-region …
Common issue.
Montalcino is about 50 km south-west of Montepulciano by road. There are a few differences between the two sub-regions even though they are so close to one another. The soils are different, as well as the winemaking and ageing requirements. But perhaps the biggest difference is that Montalcino wines must made with 100% Sangiovese grapes, but the wines of Montepulciano are allowed up to 30% of other red grapes authorized in Tuscany.
Tuscany simply never continues to give! There may be some confusion along the way but a little adversity gives the wine journey meaning!
Cin cin!
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MANVI Arya Vino Nobile di Montepulciano 2020 from Montepulciano, Tuscany, Central Italy
Style: Old World Style Moderately Full Red Wine
Varieties: Sangiovese
This elegant wine has flavors of raspberry, sweet red cherry, black cherry, dusty cherry, and the complexity of green tobacco, cedar, and leather. The oak aging is seamlessly woven into the profile. This medium intensity wine has high quality, ripe moderately high tannins, and a persistent finish.
Best pairings: Veal or eggplant Parmigiana, Pappardelle with meat sauce, Braised short ribs, Porcini mushroom ragu, Truffle risotto, and Aged Pecorino
Serving Temperature: 16-18 degrees Celsius
Serving Tips: Decant for 30 to 60 minutes!
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SOURCES:
Consorzio vino nobile di Montepulciano. (No date) Available at: http://www.consorziovinonobile.it/ (Accessed: 29 January 2025).
Harding, J. and Robinson, J. (2023) The oxford companion to wine. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press.
MacNeil, K. (2022) The wine bible. New York, NY: Workman Publishing.
Manvi, A.A. (no date) Manvi Wines. Available at: https://www.manvi.it/en/index.html (Accessed: 29 January 2025).
What exactly is elegance in wine? (no date) Wine Companion. Available at: https://winecompanion.com.au/articles/news/elegance-wine-meaning#:~:text=%E2%80%9CElegance%20is%20analogous%20to%20balance,has%20a%20seamless%2C%20even%20palate (Accessed: 29 January 2025).
Wine & Spirit Education Trust (2021) D3: Wines of the World - An accompaniment to the WSET Level 4 Diploma in Wines. Version 1.2. London: Wine & Spirit Education Trust.
Winetourism.com (no date) WineTourism.com. Available at: http://www.Winetourism.com/ (Accessed: 29 January 2025).
Great article Eveline. The Monte naming labyrinth is a bit tricky to get our heads around, but if everything about wine was straightforward what would we write about?
This is super helpful. Hoping to visit Tuscany this year. (And possibly level 3 before year-end 🫣)