Montalbino winery

Montespertoli is a small town in the hills South-West of Florence. The surrounding countryside represents the smallest and youngest DOCG subzone of the greater Chianti wine production area. Only 15 wineries belongs to this consortium. Montalbino is the one we are going to discover today.

A little bit of their history

Montalbino winery is part of the farm owned by the Tinacci family since the early 90’s. In 2015, the middle son Giulio decided to dedicate himself to the vineyards of the estate that his father had no interest in and had rented out until then. He started by working with the existing older vines. He then planted some new ones, rigorously indigenous varieties, and now has a total of 5 hectares of vineyards. In fact, when visiting Montalbino winery, the first thing that Giulio likes to do is to take his guests for a stroll through the vineyards. He explains all the work and selection operations that are required to manage the vines and obtain the best grapes. During this walk his passion and dedication stand right out and build up the right atmosphere and curiosity to taste and discover his wines.

Montalbino wines

At present he is making four wines. The most important is the Chianti Montespertoli DOCG, a blend of Sangiovese with a small percentage of Canaiolo and Colorino. This wine is vinificated and aged entirely in stainless steel vats. It is then aged in the bottle for several months before its release. The lack of aging in wooden barrels keeps this red wine incredibly fruity and fresh. In this wine black cherries are the underlying flavour throughout, with also a good dose of sapidity that would invite anybody to pair it with all the typical Tuscan food. Perfect matches are cold cuts to cheese, meat, but also soups, pasta and vegetables. In spite of the young age – this wine is released when it is about 2 years old – it offers also a very soft and round character.

The other red wine produced is called Montalbino rosso. Now, this is the blend of all the indigenous red varieties that Giulio planted: Fogliatonda, which is the biggest percentage, with also Canaiolo, Colorino and Sangiovese. This wine is in my opinion the one that best represents Giulio: pleasantly young and genuine. Fruity and floral to the nose, extremely soft and drinkable in the mouth. This wine is excellent to accompany meals, but it feels light enough to be enjoyed also as an aperitive. It is the perfect match with the fresh fava beans (baccelli) and young pecorino cheese, very typical in summer. It is no surprise that it gained the recognition as “Top Daily Wine” by Slow Wine.

The white and rosé

To complete his “quartet”, Giulio produces also a white and a rosé. His white is a pure Trebbiano di Toscana. Like the others, it is made using only stainless-steel containers. The batonage operated during the vinification gives this white wine a very round character that complements its acidity, making it a great wine both to accompany meals, and also to be enjoyed alone.

The rosé is the result of an early harvest of Sangiovese grapes, to maintain this wine fresher and lighter. A short cold maceration gives this wine a very light salmon-pink hue. Like all of Giulio’s wines, this too is a winner for freshness and pleasantness. It’s lighter alcohol content makes a perfect aperitive and it would be impossible not to finish the bottle without even realizing!

All in all, at Montalbino, you will find wines that are as fresh and youthful as their maker Giulio, but also tightly connected to the history and tradition of the area, through the use of the older Tuscan varieties and you will be able to perceive the perfect link between the future, present and past. It will be very interesting, in the future, to see how everything will mature and evolve