“Vigna dell’Impero 1935” Trebbiano Toscana IGT 2021 (BIO)

Tenuta Sette Ponti | Tuscany
Tenuta Sette Ponti s.a. s.r.l. | Via Sette Ponti 71 | IT 52029 Castiglion Fibocchi

09330221 · 0,75 l · 92,00 €/l · Price (DE) incl. VAT, excl. Shipping< 24 units available
Limitation of 3 articles per customer

In 1935, Fascist Italy proclaimed the Empire – and Amedeo di Savoia, Duke of Aosta and Viceroy of Ethiopia, had a vineyard planted on the estate belonging to his family near Arezzo. Three hectares, terraced by hand, in the heart of the estate, at 278 metres, facing south-east, on galestro-rich rock. He named the wine Vigna dell’Impero. The vineyard still exists. Ninety years of vines on the same stones. The historic mixed planting – of Sangiovese, Trebbiano, Malvasia, Canaiolo and Colorino, as has been the custom in the Chianti region for centuries – survived the wars, structural change and the drive towards monoculture. Today, the Trebbiano from this plot forms the basis of a wine that Antonio Moretti Cuseri bottles only in the finest vintages. Three thousand kilograms per hectare – for ninety-year-old vines on galestro – almost a bountiful yield – and this results in a concentration that few white wines from Tuscany achieve.

The winemaking process is a dialogue between two materials: 70% of the wine is aged in cocciopesto amphorae – a material fired from ancient pottery shards and lime, which the Romans used for water pipes and plaster; it is slightly porous, permeable to oxygen, and devoid of any woody aromas. The remaining 30% spend a year in small new French barriques. Each component develops separately before being blended and bottled after around twelve months. Then another twelve months of rest.

The result captures the tension between two worlds: the freshness and minerality of clay, the body and elegance of wood, united in a Trebbiano that redefines the grape variety. A deep, luminous golden yellow. On the nose, white flowers, broom, vanilla, a hint of coffee, followed by white-fleshed fruits and citrus peel. Direct and elegant on the palate, with an unmistakable interplay of freshness and fullness; the final is long and balanced. A vineyard that embodies the history of Italy – and a wine that deserves the present. SUPERIORE.DE

"This Trebbiano offers lovely notes of dried pears and apples, with a hint of white pepper and salt. Chamomile. Full-bodied and complex, with some phenolic notes and hints of dried earth. There’s a lot going on here. Just 2,700 bottles were produced." James Suckling