SommSelect Editorial Director David Lynch has been anxiously awaiting the arrival of this wine in the US for about a year, and it was worth it. Inspired by Montevertine’s “Le Pergole Torte,” this 2012 from Monteraponi is a new-generation benchmark for Tuscan Sangiovese.
Most people equate the term “super-Tuscan” with wines made at least in part from Cabernet Sauvignon or other international varieties blended with Tuscany’s native Sangiovese. The wine that supposedly inspired the moniker was “Sassicaia,” a Bordeaux-inspired Cabernet Sauvignon crafted in Bolgheri, on Tuscany’s Mediterranean coast, which eschewed Sangiovese altogether. But remember that “super-Tuscan” is merely a nickname, not an official classification, when considering a wine like this “Baron’Ugo” Toscana Rosso from Monteraponi. Remember also that, while Cabernet- and Merlot-influenced Tuscan reds were blowing up, there were also a devoted few Tuscans who doubled down on Sangiovese instead. The most noteworthy of these, in my opinion, were Montevertine ( “Le Pergole Torte”) and Isole e Olena (“Cepparello”)—both of which are in the heart of Chianti Classico, which most people associated with cheap, insipid wines in straw flasks. Not only did the laws of the day inhibit these producers from calling these wines Chianti, so did the appellation’s public perception: much better to treat them as “special” wines (their 'vins de châteaux,' to borrow a French term) and label them more generically, rather than saddle them with “Chianti’s” baggage. It’s ridiculous to me that Chianti still doesn’t get the respect it deserves as a world-class terroir, even as people like Monteraponi’s Michele Braganti add new, very compelling evidence to the pile with each vintage. This 2012 “Baron’Ugo” is a single-vineyard Sangiovese from Radda in Chianti—in the heart of the Classico zone and just across the valley from Montevertine—that isn’t merely a great super-Tuscan from Sangiovese but a rival to top-tier red Burgundy. No Cabernet is necessary here: like Le Pergole Torte and Cepparello, Baron’Ugo achieves the “Burgundian” holy trinity of perfume, finesse, and site-expressiveness and establishes Sangiovese’s bona fides as well as any Tuscan red from anywhere (Montalcino included). This is an important Italian wine—a new benchmark that deserves a spot in any well-curated cellar.
Braganti, whom I’ve gotten to know just over the last few years, has been pretty open about his ambitions for this wine—which, as of the 2012 vintage, is packaged in a Burgundy-style bottle (as opposed to the Bordeaux shape still dominant in Chianti). As I noted in a previous offer, I first tasted this wine more than a year ago, with Michele at his home in Florence, before it had been released. He brought out the bottle wrapped in foil, and while I probably should have known better, my mind went to the Côte de Nuits in Burgundy as I swirled and sipped. I was thinking Gevrey-Chambertin, it turned out to be this wine, and Michele couldn’t have been more delighted. He’ll be just as delighted to know that Burgundy-hound Ian Cauble found a strong Gevrey resemblance when we tasted Baron’Ugo again a few weeks ago.
The Monteraponi property spans more than 200 hectares, most of which is woodland on the outskirts of the village of Radda in Chianti. Braganti has 12 hectares of vineyards and 8 of olive groves, all now certified organic, and like many Tuscan wine properties, Monteraponi was at one time a Medieval borgo—a tiny village unto itself that once belonged to a marchese (marquis) who was the governor of Tuscany. Today the impeccably restored houses are used as holiday rentals, and Braganti’s aging cellar sits underneath a 12th-century tower that is the centerpiece of the property. Perched at about 500 meters elevation, with its vineyards concentrated within a south-facing amphitheater, it is a stunningly beautiful place to make (and drink) wine. The soils are the classic central Tuscan extremely rocky mix of galestro (a friable marl with limestone) and alberese (sandstone).
Before this wine came along, I often cited Montevertine as the closest thing to Burgundy in Italy (this often came as a surprise to people who expected me to name a Nebbiolo-based wine from Barolo or Barbaresco, in Piedmont, but for all of Nebbiolo’s haunting perfume, Sangiovese’s femininity lends it a closer resemblance to Pinot Noir, in my humble opinion). And while Chianti Classico may legally contain 100% Sangiovese these days, it is still, for most producers—including Monteraponi—a blend. The 2012 Baron’Ugo comes from a single vineyard of the same name perched at about 570 meters elevation, and is comprised of 90% Sangiovese with the traditional Chianti blending grapes Colorino and Canaiolo making up the rest. It was aged in large botti of French and Slavonian oak (mostly used) for 36 months, followed by three more months in concrete vats and 6 months in bottle before release.
In the glass, you’ll see the 2012 Baron’Ugo displaying a classically light garnet hue leading to brickish red/orange at the rim. The highly perfumed nose is a mix of black and red cherry, raspberry, red currant, tomato leaf, underbrush, dried rose petals, citrus rind, and a subtle hint of wood spice and smoke. It’s the combination of bright acid and minerality underpinning the ripe fruit that sends you—at least momentarily—to Burgundy, and the wine’s terrific energy drives it through a long and aromatic finish. As its acidity integrates further over the next 5-7 years, it is going to become a velvety, voluptuous analog to some of your favorite Côte de Nuits Pinot Noirs—above all, a fragrant and evocative taste of the woods that transports you to a hillside of holm oaks and cypresses basking in golden light. If you’re enjoying a bottle tonight, decant it about 30 minutes before service in Burgundy stems at 60-65 degrees. If you’re able to put your hands on some late-season tomatoes, try the attached recipe for a Tuscan classic, pappa al Pomodoro. The sweet-savory combination here mimics this delicious wine perfectly.
