Le Pergole Torte: One of Italy’s most consistent wines

A voyage through nearly 40 years of vintages at Montervertine’s estate in April provided confirmation of Le Pergole Torte’s unwavering success, reports as Aldo Fiordelli, who profiles the winemaking methods and picks out his top wines...

Sergio Manetti founded Montevertine in 1967 when Radda, one of the highest and rockiest sites of Chianti Classico, was considered one of the trickiest places to ripen grapes. Today, it offers one of the longest growing seasons of the region.

Manetti bypassed the traditional Chianti recipe, however, which at the time demanded the use of white grapes in the blend.

Leaving the Consorzio in 1981, he had the freedom to use a cépage of 100% Sangiovese for his new project, Le Pergole Torte – which lays claim to being one of the first Super Tuscans.

It was originally labelled simply as Vino da Tavola, but became Toscana IGT in 1998 once the category was approved.

Scroll down to see Aldo’s tasting notes & scores

An experienced wine collector with a clear idea for his wines, Manetti was helped in the winery by consultant Giulio Gambelli, a key proponent of Sangiovese who also consulted for the likes of Soldera.

Upon his death, enologist Paolo Salvi took over winemaking duties, but has been careful to preserve his predecessor’s methods.

In the vineyard, soil expert and local, Bruno Bini, was succeeded by Ruggero Mazzilli. Manetti himself passed away in 2000, and his son, Martino, took over.

Despite changes in the leadership, this tasting demonstrated remarkable stylistic consistency across nearly 40 years, even as the estate outgrew its original vineyards and cellars.

Each wine in the lineup could be attributed to Montevertine for its precise cherry fruits underpinned by privet aromas and bergamot depth.

Its firm yet ripe structure showed extraordinary balance in the best samples, such as 1999 and 2013, always on the edge between elegance and power.

‘To be honest,’ says Martino, ‘we changed from an artisanal outfit to a professional winery during the 1980s and ‘90s, growing from 7-8,000 bottles to 20,000.’

Today, Montevertine produces a maximum of 30,000 bottles of Le Pergole Torte, yet each year there are unanswered requests to increase production, which is sold entirely on pre-allocation.

Winemaking

The grapes are fermented in temperature controlled concrete vats at up to 32°C and aged in both small French barriques ‘bonde à coté’ and old Slavonian oak casks for 24 months. The barriques are tilted to prevent oxygen ingress around the bung and a small proportion are new.

This is the same regimen that has been followed since the beginning.

The bottle label is striking for its portrait of a woman, changing with every vintage. Each year it is painted by Alberto Manfredi, an Italian artist who sways between expressionism and cubism.

In her analysis of Tuscany’s leading crus for Wine Lister last March, Ella Lister identified the region as ‘underexposed’ and named Le Pergole Torte as a ‘buzz brand’ with the highest long-term price performance, which Wine Lister now reports is around +25% (three-year compound annual growth rate), dependent upon vintage.

One of the most consistent wines in all of Italy, it’s fair to say that Le Pergole Torte is one of the top Sangiovese-based Super Tuscans alongside Soldera and Flaccianello.

Le Pergole Torte: Top vintages

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