Vino Nobile de Montepulciano occupies an unusual place among the wines of Tuscany. It is not as well known as Chianti, nor as esteemed as Brunello, as trendy as Maremma nor as expensive as Bolgheri. But the Noble Wine is quite ancient, well respected and very delicious, in our opinion. If you want to really learn about it, you have to visit the town of Montepulciano, the name of which causes considerable confusion.
There is also a grape called Montepulciano, best known in the form of a different wine, Montepulciano de Abruzzo, from the section of Italy east of Rome. That wine is hearty, a bit rough and very widely available. Quite often if you simply order a glass of red wine in an Italian restaurant in the US, you’ll get Montepulciano de Abruzzo. The wine from Montepulciano is Vino Nobile. If you visit the town, you’ll find many enotecas where you can try the local wines and also several tasting rooms from some of the better producers.
We recommend that you walk all the way up the hill to the Piazza Grande, home to the cathedral and the imposing city hall. And tucked into a corner of the square is a stately palazzo where you can taste the wines of Contucci. This was not our first encounter with these wines; we had ordered them in restaurants in both New York and Siena. So the enjoyment we had in the elegant tasting room was in learning about the range of the wines that Contucci produces: notably several different Vino Nobiles, a Rosso de Montepulciano, and a Vin Santo dessert wine. However…
The Contucci tasting room on the Piazza Grande in Montepulciano. Photo courtesy of Cantine Contucci.
If you go down the hill at the same corner of the piazza you will almost immediately see a door with a big sign above it announcing the Cantine Contucci. No disrespect to the fine building on the piazza, but this is the place to visit. Here you get a much more rustic and warmer welcome and you see the caves where the wines are aged in huge oak casks.
The other location to taste Contucci wines. Photo courtesy of tripadvisor.it.
You will learn about the history of the Contucci family (over 1000 years in Montepulciano), their role in the development of Vino Nobile (attested in the 18th century), the popes who have visited and how Vino Nobile is made. It has to be made with at least 70% Sangiovese (in Chianti it’s 80%) but then they mix in other local grapes such as Canaiolo Nero, Mammolo or Colorino. Just to confuse matters further, in Montepulciano Sangiovese is called Prugnolo Gentile.
The wine casks in the cellars of Cantine Contucci. Photo courtesy of Cantine Contucci.
We told the nice gentleman who was pouring wine that we had tasted his wines at the palazzo up the hill and he said we should just try them again. We objected, he insisted and, oh well, why not. If you want to combine good wine, good stories and some interesting history, a stop at the Cantine Contucci is just your thing.