Tenuta di Gracciano della Seta: vintage update: the Vino Nobile di Montepulciano 2021 is now available
The Vino Nobile has a bright ruby colour, an intense, ripe cherry and plum nose and a dry, balanced and persistent taste of rounded tannins.
Grapes:
90 % Prugnolo Gentile
10% merlot
Try it with traditional dishes such as roasts, game and mature cheeses.
The Vino Nobile di Montepulciano is one of the oldest and most prestigious Tuscan wines: it comes from a clone of the Sangiovese variety which in Montepulciano is called Prugnolo Gentile, because of its characteristic plum bouquet.
The special link between Sangiovese and the terroir, going back to ancient times, as well as the rich sand and clay soil, create the ideal conditions for producing full-bodied, aromatic wines with delicate tannins.
Since 1980, the Vino Nobile di Montepulciano is a “vino a denominazione di origine controllata (DOCG)” (controlled and guaranteed designation of origin), which corresponds to the highest recognition on the Italian wine market.
THE PRODUCER: 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.
THE CELLAR: the old cellars of the main villa are currently used only for ageing wine in large barrels and tonneaux.
The new winemaking facility, designed by the Studio Caruso e Torricella in 2013, coexists harmoniously with the old buildings of the Estate, consisting of the Villa and the adjoining farmhouse, as well as with the garden and the surrounding countryside.
The sleek new buildings seem to blend perfectly with the sloping terrain. Their traditional red brick exterior, however, hides state-of-the-art wine-making equipment and machinery.The new unit contains 50, 100 and 120 hl stainless steel vats, with temperature control systems as well as pumping over and punching down equipment.
Ageing takes place in large Slavonian oak barrels (with a capacity of 25-50 hl) and tonneaux (with a capacity of 5 hl) of medium roasted French Allier oak.
A pneumatic wine press, a wine pump and a crusher-distemmer complete the equipment. The grapes are transported from the vineyards on carts with vibrating inclined planes and emptied directly into the crusher.
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