Boscarelli Vino Nobile di Montepulciano 1996

The medieval hill town of Montepulciano is a little east of Montalcino, dominating the gentle landscape of southern Tuscany from its 1,985 feet above sea level. It is a tiny architectural jewel, with a higher density of arts per acre than there are inhabitants, and a long-standing fame as the home of poets and wines... The former thrived in Renaissance times; the latter star Vino Nobile, which luckily for us all is alive and flourishing to this day. The very "nobile" estate of Paola De Ferrari Corradi (founded in 1962; first Vino Nobile vintage: 1967) is located southeast of Montepulciano (facing the Valdichiana) on one of the area's finest, most historical crus, Cervognano, well known for its hallmark combination of elegance and power. In the course of over four decades of winemaking excellence, Paola (flanked by sons Luca and Nicolò) has chosen the hard way: absolute rigor and loyalty to quality & terroir. This resulted in an unbroken track record of vintage-to-vintage consistency. If anyone can pinpoint just one property that led the way to making Vino Nobile a modern classic, that property is, without a doubt, Boscarelli. Today, the latter includes 44.5 acres under vine at an elevation of 984 feet above sea level on the Cervognano hillside. Microclimate is well-ventilated and ideal for top quality Nobiles. Soil is alluvial in origin, very sandy and stony, conducive to good drainage and remarkable elegance in the resulting wine. Further acreage is in the pipeline, for Paola purchased a second homestead in Cortona, several miles northeast of Montepulciano. The long-term plan is to bring this second property's vineyard surface to 25 acres - over and above the original nucleus.