Vino Nobile & Carmignano: Italy’s Forgotten Noble Reds

Italy is one of the world’s most fascinating and diverse countries. There are of course famous wines like Brunello di Montalcino , Barolo and Chianti Classico . But the country is also home to many other wines that have enjoyed periods of prominence mixed with less brilliant eras of near obscurity. Vino Nobile and Carmignano are two wines with long, rich histories, deep connections to the land and much for the curious wine-lover to explore. MONTEPULCIANO’S VINO NOBILE Vino Nobile is the top wine made in Montepulciano, a picturesque hillside town located near Montalcino, Pienza and the southern border of Chianti Classico. Vino Nobile, nowadays often simply called ‘Nobile’, generally has more structure and depth than Chianti Classico, but less opulence than Brunello. That’s a pretty appealing mix in my book. In recent years producers have backed off the extracted, oaky, internationalized styles meant to make Nobile resemble wines from other commercially popular regions – the approach of the last three decades or so – and instead focused showing the natural translucence and expressivity of Sangiovese, known here as Prugnolo Gentile. The results are evident. I have never been more turned on by the wines of Montepulciano as I was during my tastings for this report. If I had to bet on one region in Italy that really has the potential to explode onto the global stage the way Brunello, Barolo, Barbaresco and Chianti Classico have, it would no doubt be Montepulciano. There is so much potential here. For now, the wines of Montepulciano offer exceptional value, especially within the context of reds of place from historical Old World appellations. A BIT OF HISTORY… Readers may be surprised to learn that Vino Nobile di Montepulciano was the first Italian wine awarded DOCG status, back in 1980. Its history goes back much further than that. The first recorded mention of wines from Montepulciano being notable dates to the eighth century. Writer Francesco Redi praised the wines in his famous poem Bacco di Toscana in 1685. Thomas Jefferson, who may have had the most refined and well-traveled palate of his time wrote "[F]or the present I confine myself to the physical want of some good Montepulciano..., this being a very favorite wine, and habit having rendered the light and high flavored wines a necessary of life with me” in 1816. --Antonio Galloni, Vino Nobile & Carmignano: Italy’s Forgotten Noble Reds, April 2021 To read Antonio’s full report and learn about the essentials of Vino Nobile and Carmignano, check out the full article on Vinous now . Below is a selection of notes from the report.