January 7, 2024 - This is in a very good place. bright red morello cherry fruit with the savory notes that are the hallmark of this house. The warmth of this vintage is resolved and this wine is in a very fine place, somewhat hedonistic, but I think ready to go.
September 2, 2023 - didn't pay very close attention but an excellent chianti blend. nose on the darker end of chianti and with some dusty clay and brush. palate full with some good buoying acidity. rich dark cherry and berry fruit flavors with a pleasingly spiced note toward the back of the palate. the blending grapes show and really bolster the fruit. good now with some tertiary notes just emerging, would drink well for another 5-10 years.
August 13, 2023 - Concur with many reviews on CellarTracker but wouldn’t agree this is over the hill yet. It is certainly a wine that needs a bit of time to breathe. I didn’t decant and on popping and pouring it was clunky, fearcely acidic and not a pleasant experience. However, after 2 days open in the bottle it has softened and I suspect represents a bit of a throwback to older Tuscan wines. I am consuming without food and assume this would be far better with a nice Porchetta or grilled pork chop! I do think that it’s well into its drinking window and should be drunk up over the next couple of years. All in all not a bad wine!
March 13, 2023 - needs 1-2 hours first then soft and very drinkable
December 8, 2022 - Popped and poured
Dark fruit (cherry, blueberry), nice cedar, graphite, nice spice, slight tannins. Very smooth and elegant. Good acidity. Lingering finish. Really enjoyable.
July 22, 2022 - Unfortunately over the top already.
January 19, 2022 - Odd - the first and probably only Montevertine that I have had that lives up to the hype.
November 24, 2021 - I last tasted this about two years ago, and felt that it definitely needed at least a year in the cellar. I was right. :) This has opened up beautifully, and shows a richness uncommon in Montevertine's "entry level" wine. This medium+ bodied Sangiovese blend drank well beyond its price point. My guess is that this has 10+ years of great drinking ahead.
August 25, 2021 - Returned my whole case (also of 2013 and 2015) because they were not filtered correctly/fully. Very unfortunate because was looking forward to them.
December 11, 2020 - A proper drink of 2015 Pian del Ciampolo involves squeezing it into the sides of your mouth, and then swinging your face from side to side like a pony playing. Maybe this stimulates salivation; I don’t know. But it works.
Nobility and pedigree in the form of resin extracted from little red berries. From the beginning of the first inhale, ya get a cake-like prune/marzipan sooty flesh encasing jagged little bones of sour cherries and spice. That is the narrative tension. The prose is fleet, trotting with rhythm and rhyme. The wine practically drinks itself.
The fruit is endlessly sweet. As it rinses to the back, I notice a thread of cardamom, blueberry jam, savory Toscano cigars, juniper and rosemary crusted chops and cheeses. But these images are ephemeral. It always returns to poise, pace, and measured, immense fruit.
This is fresh, powerful, and ready to drink for at least another 5 years.
It is the most serious of the fun wines, and the most fun of the serious wines. That cascade of hydrating, juicy, intense, organized, fresh flavor.