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Once upon a time, the decisions leading to
the creation of a vineyard tended to spring from a combination of love and a
very personal vision.
It was normal to find all kinds of varietals growing in the
rows of the old Chianti vineyards, and this obviously made everyone's wine
different. I like to think that when the landowners of old laid out their
vineyards, they tried to gather all the treasures they
knew of into their plots of land. Hence we find the most diverse Sangiovese
clones, as well as Green Canaiuolo and Red Stemmed Canaiuolo, both of which
have almost disappeared. Among the white grapes, in addition to Trebbiano
Gentile and Malvasia Bianca, we find Grechetto, Verdicchio, and, imagine! Even
a little Semillon. And then, in the spots known only to the landowners, there
were even wonderful table grapes.
At Montenidoli we still have
these old vineyards, which are registered as Chianti. From the free-run must of
the Trebbiano Gentile and Malvasia Bianca grapes we obtain Vinbrusco, the
traditional white wine of San Gimignano's farmers. From all of Montenidoli's
white grapes, including Vernaccia, we make Il Templare, whose highlights bring
to mind the white wines of old, made by the Knights Templar on these very
lands. In the various Canaiolo clones, which modern enology often finds "too
light" and discards, we find the perfect fruit for our Canaiuolo Rosé.
The wines from Tradition:
- CANAIUOLO
Created at Montenidoli, this wine from the
Canaiolo varietal shows how much pleasure can be derived from an unrivaled
rosé. It is the first wine we bottle each year because we want to
preserve all its freshness intact.
- VINBRUSCO
Traditionally, around San Gimignano the
Trebbiano and Malvasia grapes from the Chianti vineyards were vinified
together, and though they ripen after San Giovese and Canaiuolo the growers
would harvest them at the same time. The result was an acidic, or brusco
(brusque) wine. Now, since we pick our grapes at full ripeness, our Vinbrusco
has become rich and savory.
- TEMPLARE
From Vernaccia, Trebbiano, Malvasia Bianca,
Semillon, Verdicchio, and Grechetto grapes. In other words, all the white
grapes found in the old vineyards. Fermented in wood, they yield a wine that
may even have been used for the Holy Mass by the Knights Templar who resided at
Montenidoli long ago.
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