Valdipiatta
Words OF Miriam Caporali
The history of the wine Vino Nobile di Montepulciano started 2,500 years ago. The recent history with the appellation began in 1965, when the DOCG was created. Vino Nobile di Montepulciano actually is one of the first [officially recognised] appellations.
In Tuscany, yes, but actually in Italy. Vino Nobile di Montepulciano has been one of the first to get the DOC statute and the first to get the DOCG statutes in 1980, actually.
Why is it called the noble wine of the town of Montepulciano? Where does the “vino nobile” come from?
There are a few interpretations [including the one involving the Pope’s cellarmaster given in the introduction], but the one I think is most trustworthy is this one: in Montepulciano, the Nobile family were living in town. Today, for example, we have the Nobile Building in town. Their land, their vineyards, were all around the hill of Montepulciano. They were not spread out in the countryside like the Chianti area, for example. Everything was very close.
Due to this proximity, the owner of the wineries was able to personally check the quality of the wine, not the workers checking the quality, but the owner. That’s why the quality of the wine was always so good because the eyes of the Nobile family were always there to check the quality of the wine, unlike other areas.
In my opinion, like in other areas that produce Sangiovese-based wines, the Vino Nobile di Montepulciano has changed in the last 20 years, maybe, in the direction of a wine which is more approachable and less austere compared to what it was in the past. The Sangiovese, I would say until the mid-’90s, was sometimes interpreted as a difficult varietal with astringency, sometimes a little bit hard with green tannins. Everything was accepted, just thinking the wine into the bottle would have brought some better result and satisfaction.
Today the challenge is to approach Sangiovese in order to extract only the smoothest part from the grapes. The wines today are much more immediately enjoyable, rounder, softer, but also with good potential for aging. Of course it’s a difficult balance, but this is the goal of the new approach to the Sangiovese.
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About
‘Vino Nobile’ is an historic term most commentators ascribe to the 16th century when the Pope’s cellar master praised the wines from the Tuscan town of Montepulciano as being fit for “noblemen,” and the name stuck. In this case the wine is a rich red from mainly Sangiovese grapes. It is one of the three major Sangiovese-producing regions in Tuscany alongside Montalcino and Chianti. Here, as with Chianti, the mixture of other grape varieties is permitted and Sangiovese must comprise at least 70% of the wine.
The Tenuta Valdipiatta winery is located in the heart of the Vino Nobile di Montepulciano region in southeastern Tuscany, Italy. Valdipiatta’s owners, the Caporali family, combine a keen sense of history regarding Vino Nobile’s traditions, with one eye on the future. Tenuta Valdipiatta’s interpretation of Vino Nobile is notable for three reasons. The first is because Valdipiatta’s Sangiovese vines grow on soils rich in sand, the resulting wines are richly fruited but not heavy or tough. Second, the adoption of organic wine-growing practices by Miriam Caporali has given the wines added brightness. Finally, Miriam’s decision to study in and learn from the best winemakers in Bordeaux about how to pick the grapes at the perfect moment for maximum smoothness has given Valdipiatta’s Vino Nobile wines intriguing texture. Those who argue that Vino Nobile is among Tuscany’s most exciting regions surely have estates like Valdipiatta in mind when they make that claim.
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