We are in Maremma, near the border with Lazio, and Riccardo Lepri’s Tenuta Montauto produces two unusual cru of absolute greatness: the Poggio del Crine Sauvignon and Pinot Noir.
La Montaùto Estate is certainly the most important Maremma innovation of the last 10 years. Riccardo Lepri has proposed a different Maremma, untethered from classic native wines and based on Sauvignon and Pinot Noir, which have always been present on the farm thanks to his grandfather Enos who planted them in the 1980s because he “liked them.” It was a decidedly countercultural but far-sighted choice given the levels reached by both varieties.
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For native wine lovers, there are also small productions of Ciliegiolo (the Silio), as well as two Sangiovese (the Staccione rosé and a metodo classico), a Bianco di Pitigliano (Trebbiano base) and a Vermentino Maremma Toscana Doc. But it is clear that the company’s focus is on Sauvignon and Pinot Noir.
A Maremma against the tide
In Montaùto one encounters a Maremma cool and windy, far from the stereotypes of suffocating heat and little rainfall. This is due to the location of the vineyards placed on a ridge of a west-east oriented valley, which allows the Tyrrhenian winds to wedge into the gorge and make this a cool place with significant temperature swings during the 24 hours.
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A border land, with to the north the municipality of Manciano and to the south that of Canino, famous for oil production and found on Latium soil. The soils are also distinctive with a large amount of quartz and a rather small amount of clay. The correlation between soil and ventilation gives us a distinctly rare landscape unit at these latitudes..
The cellar is functional, small but with adequate space; the quality of the woods used and the technology applied are striking. Great attention to detail and the vineyard care with a stake on the spurred cordon rather high in order to avoid frost and which we are told gives a greater olfactory impact.
Visit and tasting of great interest
Recently on a day organized in Montaùto with many friendly and knowledgeable colleagues we enjoyed tasting some older vintages and future releases of both the cru Poggio del Crine Pinot Noir (practically a vertical) and of Poggio del Crine Sauvignon. Una serata deliziata dalla fantasmagorica cucina di Valeria Piccini of the restaurant Da Caino in Montemerano, perfectly integrated into the wines that were offered to us. A praise goes to the Gessaia 2011, the Sauvignon entry level estate, which after 12 years still maintained an intense varietal nose and an unexpected pleasantness on the palate thanks to its excellent sapidity.
But let’s come to Poggio del Crine’s two super selections derived from the best rows and oldest vines on the estate.