Let’s deepen our knowledge with the 4 wines that ranked at the top of the list of wines with the best value for money.
If you wonder why precisely four and not, as is usually done, the podium and that is the top three, it is quickly said: these four wines can all be found on sale for 7 euros, while the others following in the ranking are on sale at a slightly higher price.
We therefore thought it worthwhile to go and learn more about all of these magnificent 4 of convenience.
The Bianchello del Metauro
As you know, our champion this year is from the Marche region, specifically a Bianchello del Metauro. This is a tiny appellation, all aimed at the hinterland of Fano, in northern Marche, towards Romagna.
Here the Bianchello or Biancame grape, belonging to the Tuscan Trebbiani family, finds its historical territory of choice.
Bianchello del Metauro Doc can be declined in different types, besides the “classic” one: Superiore, Passito and Spumante.
In this case, we are talking about the “classic” version, the basic one, which we love for this being easy (which is not to say simple), drinkable, light.The producer we awarded is Tommaso Di Sante, who guides the family business with a firm hand and a kind smile, gradually equipping it with everything modernity requires: beautiful tasting room, beautiful cellar, a desire for hospitality (it is part of the circuit of educational farms) and, of course, good wines and also a particularly fine evo oil, all from certified organic farming.
Almost ex-aequo a Montepulciano d’Abruzzo.
We then go down the coast to Abruzzo, to a much better-known type of wine: the Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, which certainly needs no introduction. Stefano Illuminati, with the collaboration of his brother Lorenzo and the new generation, continues the work of his father Dino, who brought his wines to the tables of half the world.
An achievement also achieved with a pricing policy of rare honesty and foresight.
The winery is in Controguerra, on the Abruzzo side of the Tronto Valley, where the border with the Marche region runs, a corner of Abruzzo where the hills brush against the sea.
Here, for more than 100 years, the Illuminati family has been creating its wine with a passion that is renewed from generation to generation.
In Tuscany, in Montepulciano
We pass on the other side of the Apennines to land in Tuscany, from the Montepulciano grape to the small town of Montepulciano, in the province of Siena.
Non entriamo qui nel merito della confusione che si crea per molte persone, dove lo stesso nome definisce un’uva e una città senza che queste abbiano niente a che fare l’una con l’altra.
Let’s talk instead about the Rosso di Montepulciano, which is the young wine that insists on the same territory as Vino Nobile, the municipality of Montepulciano precisely, only in the hilly area of production that goes from 250 to 600 meters above sea level.
The ampelographic base consists of at least 70 percent Sangiovese, particularly the local biotype called Prugnolo gentile, with complementary vines both native and international.
We chose the one from Old Cellar of Montepulciano, a social reality founded in 1937, the first in Tuscany, which under the leadership of current president Andrea Rossi, assisted by Lorenzo Landi’s oenological consultancy, is showing great qualitative growth.
The company consists of 400 members and produces about 7 million bottles, divided into several lines.
This Rosso is part of the base line.
… and in Chianti
Let’s go to the Sienese Chianti, just a few meters from the Chianti Classico border at Castellina. The Melini, in fact, a historic winery that has been producing wine since 1705, now in the constellation of Gruppo Italiano Vini, is located right on the border and has vineyards both in Chianti Classico and in the area outside the specification, which falls precisely within the Chianti DOCG.
It has a solid production history behind it, which led it to be one of the first companies to export Chianti in flasks, back in 1860.
The 556-hectare property between Siena and Florence, with 86 hectares under vine, includes several estates.
The Chianti we chose comes from Podere San Lorenzo, overlooking the hills overlooking the Val d’Elsa, 330 meters above sea level within a majestic nature reserve of Cypress trees.
TO READ THE WINE DESCRIPTIONS, WITH SCORE AND AVERAGE SHELF PRICE, CLICK ON THE TABS BELOW.
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