The Montenidoli Colorino hails from Elisabetta Fagiuoli’s mountainside vineyards overlooking San Gimignano, just west of Chianti Classico. While Fagiuoli’s most recognized wines are her whites from Vernaccia, we fell in love with her Colorino. Montenidoli is famous within the wine trade for sure, not just because of the consistent excellence (and organic pedigree) of the wines but because of its indefatigable proprietor, who, at eighty-something, is still regularly seen pouring her wines at industry tastings in the US, decked out like a proper signora and full of goodwill. She’s a true legend whose 50+ years in wine includes accolades from some of Italian wine’s biggest names (Luigi Veronelli; Giacomo Tachis; Giulio Gambelli), and her belief in both her land and herself is best summed up by the name on one of the reds: “Sono Montenidoli” (“I am Montenidoli”). If you’re an Italian wine lover and haven’t experienced these wines, you must; if you already know Montenidoli, you know how special her wines are. 

The Colorino variety gets a starring role of its own at Montenidoli. As its name suggests, this dark-hued variety has traditionally been used to add color to Chianti red blends, but, as with Canaiolo, a few Tuscan producers think enough of it to vinify it on its own. When you taste Montenidoli’s interpretation, you’ll wonder why there aren’t more: Her Colorino is inky black but not the rich, extracted style of wine that color may suggest. It has a firm, fine, focused structure, its tangy black raspberry and Morello cherry fruit complemented by savory notes of pipe tobacco, ground coffee, smoky earth, and licorice. Fermented in concrete vats and aged in used oak barrels, it is powerful without being hefty.