Review: Wines of Vecchie Terre di Montefili, 2026 Releases
Vecchie Terre di Montefili is a boutique producer in Chianti Classico, operating a small 12.5-hectare estate at an altitude of about 1500 feet. Sangiovese is of course the focus here, and winemaker (“more an agronomist than winemaker”) Serena Gusmeri guided us through a tasting of three of its expressions recently over Zoom. A big believer in terroir and organic growing methods, Gusmeri leans on large barrels and concrete to infuse her wines with a more restrained oak influence.
Thoughts on the lineup follow.
2020 Montefili Anfiteatro Toscana – From the first vineyard planted on the property in 1975. Designed to be a more elegant wine, aged in “smaller” barrels (1000 liters and 500 liters, 50/50). While certainly not heavy, the cherry and raspberry notes pop, albeit coming across as a bit on the thin side at the moment, with a bit of a tannic edge that requires time in glass to resolve. Eventually the wine evolves to feature notes of dried flowers and anise, the latter increasingly pronounced as it sits in glass. Drying on the finish and still a bit tight, with touches of dark chocolate and coffee ringing the edges. Pair with pasta. B+ / $51
2021 Montefili Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG – Iconically structured, with intense notes of black cherries tempered by tea leaf, cola, and a pinch of anise. Though this wine is just five years old, it feels like it’s drinking at close to the prime of its life. Refreshing with its fruity intensity yet structurally stout, the wine likely has a decade or more of life left in it, with layers of blackberry and boysenberry adding tons of acidity. Time in glass reveals that there may be a bit too much fruit lingering at the moment, that a few more years may help everything to coalesce. You won’t have any complaints sipping this today, but popping the cork for New Year’s 2030 would be a lovely goal to pursue. A- / $50
2020 Montefili Vigna Nel Bosco Chianti Classico Gran Selezione DOCG – Bosco means woods in Italian, as this wine’s grapes are grown near a forest. It’s perhaps the best wine in this lineup, floral notes punctuated with turned earth, green herbs, and a smattering of duskier spices, ending on a gentle note of anise and a layer of graphite. Dark chocolate lurks on the finish but never in an overbearing or overly dessert-like way, with brighter notes of cherry and plum building as the wine approaches its triumphant conclusion. A clear standout in the collection. A / $61
2020 Montefili Vigna Nel Bosco Chianti Classico Gran Selezione DOCG
USD61
