James Suckling awards for Gracciano: 93 Points to the first Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Pieve Gracciano 2021
This new Vino Nobile Pieve Gracciano has a stricter production regulation which foresees:
- Grapes grown in a single vineyard of 15 years of age at least
- Maximum yield of 7 tons of grapes per hectare
- Blend: 85% of Sangiovese minimum. Indigenous red berry Tuscan varieties can be added (Canaiolo, Ciliegiolo, Colorino, Mammolo)
- Maturation and ageing:: 36 months of which at least 12 months in wood and 12 months in the bottle
- A committee of the Consortium will evaluate the quality of the wine before it is released on the market.
Introducing the PIEVE
Last year the neighbouring Vino Nobile di Montepulciano appellation in southern Tuscany has delineated 12 specific subregions within the appellation: the Pieve*
- Pieve Cervognano
- Pieve Cerliana
- Pieve Caggiola
- Pieve Sant’Albino
- Pieve Valiano
- Pieve Ascianello
- Pieve San Biagio
- Pieve Le Grazie
- Pieve Gracciano
- Pieve Badia
- Pieve Argiano
- Pieve Valardegna
* In the past the area of this part of Tuscany was divided into “Pievi”: these were religious and civil constituencies which were represented by a rural church.
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The Gracciano Estate is one of the oldest wineries in the Montepulciano region.
In the beginning of the 19th century, Gracciano was owned by the Svetoni family who built the Villa and created the Italian-style gardens that surround it. With over 400 hectares and 22 farms, the very extensive Gracciano Estate also produced a wide variety of typical Tuscan products.
The property was inherited by the current owners, Marco, Vannozza and Galdina della Seta Ferrari Corbelli Greco, through their father Giorgio.
Today, the winery covers roughly 70 hectares of which 20 are vineyards.
The vines grow on the clay and silty soil of the Gracciano hills, one of the oldest and most prestigious crus of Montepulciano.
Already in 1864 the Vino Nobile di Montepulciano produced by the then Svetoni winery (today Gracciano della Seta Estate) was awarded the first prize at the International Fair of Turin.
The cellars of the Gracciano Villa still contain several bottles of wine from exceptional vintage years.
Giorgio della Seta, after working for many years abroad as a manager in a multinational company, decided to return to Tuscany and take up the family Estate.
He proceeded to renew the vineyards and build, in 2013, a new winery alongside the traditional unit which is still used for ageing wine in wood.
The winery has always been run by renowned oenologists (such as Nicolò d’Afflitto from 1985 and Beppe Rigoli since 1995) who ensured that the Tenuta di Gracciano produced an excellent Vino Nobile, fully respecting the terroir and using autochthonous vines.
