IGT Toscana Rosso "Alberello"

2019
Italy
Tuscany

100% Sangiovese. This wine comes from a gently sloped, east-northeast-facing, half-hectare parcel in the Fonterenza's Montalcino vineyard. Planted in 2005 but not bottled separately until the 2015 vintage, the biodynamically farmed vines are trained in alberello--which yield smaller amounts of more concentrated fruit--and grow in quartz-rich galestro soils. The bunches are harvested by hand, destemmed, gently pressed and fermented spontaneously in tank with around 20 days of maceration. The wine is aged for 24-36 months in a mix of Slavonian oak botti and cement and bottled without filtration. 2019 is the first vintage in which "Alberello" is classified as an IGT rather than as a Rosso di Montalcino, a choice the Padovanis made to distinguish it more clearly from their original Rosso. 

92 points
"The 2019 Sangiovese Alberello is from a single parcel in the southeast of Montalcino and has a medium ruby appearance, with aromas of fresh red berries, red cherry, pressed red flowers, and anise. It is medium-bodied and approachable, with fine tannins and fresh acidity, followed by more ripe berries and sweet Mediterranean herbs that float through the palate with ease. It is a lovely and pure wine to drink over the next 6-8 years."
Audrey Frick,
Jeb Dunnuck
March 2023
92 points
"The 2019 Sangiovese Alberello entices with masses of crushed raspberries, mint, rubbed sage and smoky hints of camphor forming its bouquet. It envelopes the palate with velvety waves of ripe red fruit, coming across as dense and weighty yet elegant all the same. Hints of sour citrus and balsamic-tinged spice linger as the 2019 finishes lightly structured with rounded tannins that provide a gentle grip. This is the first vintage that we see the Vigna Alberello as an IGT, rather than a Rosso di Montalcino. While this move is the opposite from what many producers are doing in the region, Fonterenza is hoping that it will distinguish the wine better from their Rosso. The Alberello hails from the estates 0.5-hectare Alberello vineyard which was planted in 2005. It’s refined for 24 to 36 months in a combination of Slavonian oak botti and cement."
Eric Guido,
Vinous Media
October 2022

SKU/Code: 
DB3371-19
Product Line: 
Wine
Red
Varietal: 
Sangiovese
Farming Type: 
Biodynamic