Dei Vino Nobile di Montepulciano 2016
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Wine
Enthusiast -
James
Suckling - Decanter
Product Details
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Winemaker Notes
#13 Wine Enthusiast Top 100 of 2020
Vino Nobile di Montepulciano is a brilliant color with hints of garnet as it ages. Intense bouquet, pungent and ripe, with aroma of ripe cherry, plum and violets. Flavorful, balanced and persistent, it has soft, velvety tannins.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Fragrant blue flower, crushed aromatic herb and wild berry aromas form the nose of this smooth, full-bodied red. A blend of 90% Sangiovese and 10% Canaiolo Nero, it’s savory and loaded with finesse, delivering juicy black cherry, ripe blackberry, truffle and cocoa before a star anise finish. Supple tannins and bright acidity provide seamless support and balance. Drink 2021–2031. Editors' Choice.
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James Suckling
Vivid and energetic red with cherry and orange-peel character. Full-bodied, tight and linear with pretty tannins and focus. Drink now or hold.
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Decanter
Harvest was later than in 2015 at Dei. Due to the late rainfall, they picked in stages, starting on 5 October and concluding on 16 October. This brings together grapes from three different areas with diverse soils, altitudes and expositions, giving a general expression of the Montepulciano region. Despite significant ripeness of fruit, there's plenty of freshness and purity. Glossy dark red cherry is nuanced by thyme and rosemary. The tannins are big and upfront but padded with sufficient plump fruit, with some juiciness appearing on the finish. Drinking Window 2019 - 2028
Other Vintages
2019-
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James
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Robert
Parker
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Robert
Parker
Caterina has personally managed the estate since 1991 when she left her career in the theatre. She is supported by Jacopo Felici, a young and very talented agronomist/oenologist who works full time at the estate, and by the well known oenologist Paolo Caciorgna. Paolo has been consulting at Tenuta Dei since January 2014, as Nicolò D'Afflitto, consulting oenologist at Dei since 1992, now works exclusively for a large wine enterprise.
The vineyard extension is 55 hectares, divided between the zones of Martiena, Bossona, La Ciarliana and La Piaggia on the slopes of the hill of Montepulciano. The varietals grown are mainly the ones utilized in the blend of the estate's Vino Nobile: Sangiovese and Canaiolo. A small percentage of the varietals is international and go into the blend of "Sancta Catharina", a proprietary wine and another small percentage is made up of white varietals for the production of Bianco di Martiena IGT and of Vin Santo di Montepulciano DOC: Grechetto, Malvasia and Trebbiano.
All the phases of wine production now take place in the impressive new cellar entirely built in Travertino marble (from the Dei's quarries) and glass. Energy is produced by photovoltaic panels and the temperature is kept even by a geothermal system. The cellar is partly built underground. Azienda Dei is certainly a reference for Vino Nobile di Montepulciano worldwide due to the extremely high quality of the wines.
Among Italy's elite red grape varieties, Sangiovese has the perfect intersection of bright red fruit and savory earthiness and is responsible for the best red wines of Tuscany. While it is best known as the chief component of Chianti, it is also the main grape in Vino Nobile di Montepulciano and reaches the height of its power and intensity in the complex, long-lived Brunello di Montalcino. Somm Secret—Sangiovese doubles under the alias, Nielluccio, on the French island of Corsica where it produces distinctly floral and refreshing reds and rosés.
This significant Tuscan village—not to be confused with the red grape of the same name widely grown in Abruzzo and the Marche regions—was home to one of the first four Italian DOCGs granted in 1980.
Based on the Sangiovese grape (here called Prugnolo Gentile), the village’s prized wine called Vino Nobile di Montepulciano ranks stylistically in between Chianti Classico, for its finesse, and Brunello di Montalcino for its power. With a deep ruby color, heavy concentration and a firm structure given by the village's heavy, cool clay soils, most Vino Nobile di Montepulciano will demand some bottle age.