Also by Jeremy Young:The Italy Wine ProjectThe Humidor Project
The Italy Wine Project

Regions / Tuscany

DOCStill huntingModerate

Vin Santo di Montepulciano DOC

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IL PROGETTODOCVIN SANTO DI MONTEPULCIANOAAIT58816731Denominazione di Origine Controllata

No strip issued. I'm still hunting a bottle.

Montepulciano's Vin Santo is defined by Avignonesi, whose Occhio di Pernice (from Sangiovese, aged around ten years in 50-liter caratelli) is the most concentrated sweet wine in Italy: nearly black-brown, syrupy, with dates, molasses, espresso, dried cherry, walnut and a finish that lasts minutes. The white-grape Vin Santo from Avignonesi, Contucci, Boscarelli and Dei is more conventional: amber, nutty, apricot and caramel. Prices at the top are steep, but the Occhio di Pernice is a once-in-a-lifetime taste.

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If you make Vin Santo di Montepulciano, import it, or know who does, the form takes two minutes and I reply to every one.

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Bottles I'm chasing

  • Contucci

    Vin Santo di Montepulciano

    Traditional family cellar in the town center; dried apricot, almond, honey, moderate sweetness, a fair price for the DOC.

    $35 to $45Wine-Searcher
  • Avignonesi

    Vin Santo di Montepulciano

    Ten years in caratelli from Trebbiano, Malvasia and Grechetto; toffee, dried fig, roasted nuts, huge density, extremely long.

    $150 to $220Wine-Searcher
  • Avignonesi

    Vin Santo di Montepulciano Occhio di Pernice

    The Sangiovese version, one of the world's great sweet wines; dates, coffee, dried cherry, molasses, thick and endless; tiny production.

    $250 to $400Wine-Searcher