Wine Advisor
Montevertine, Le Pergole Torte 1994
Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
This well-known proprietary red wine made from Sergio Manetti's Sangioveto vineyards, is an exceptionally elegant, medium ruby-colored wine with kirsch and cherry aromas intermixed with leathery, cigar box-like spices. In the mouth, there is dry tannin, which is slightly intrusive, but the wine's fruit is clean. The overall impression is of a stylish, spicy, complex, medium-weight red for consuming over the next 4-5 years. Importer: Premium Brands, Inc., Forest Hills, NY; tel. (no listing)
Reviewed by: Monica Larner
The 1994 Le Pergole Torte shows sure signs of Brettanomyces, and I'm told that bottle variation has long been an issue with this vintage. The bouquet shows a meaty side with saddle leather, cola, balsam herb, iron, blood and dried tomato paste. In a blind tasting, you could easily mistake this wine as Sangiovese from a hot climate like Maremma on the Tuscan Coast, as opposed to the cooler Chianti Classico region. The mouthfeel is succulent and soft. Some of Italy's greatest red wines were made in 1994, so it's too bad that Montevertine missed this train.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 1994 Le Pergole Torte is bold, powerful and gamy, with the ferrous qualities of this site coming thorough quite clearly. A bit disjointed and wild, the 1994 shows the more animal qualities of Sangiovese. Although the aromatics are heading towards the tertiary end of the spectrum, there is enough density for the wine to drink well for at least a few more years. There is not a lot of elegance or finesse here, but the 1994 has held up well considering the vintage. Tasted from double magnum.
About the Producer
Montevertein is located in the heart of the Chianti hills, in the town of Lada, Chianti, at 425 meters above sea level. The winery grows only the indigenous grape varieties of the Chianti region: Sangiovese, Canajolo and Corolino. At Montevertine, simplicity, respect, extreme attention to detail and expertise are the guiding principles that inspire our daily work. The winery's winemaking methods are very traditional and have remained so since the first harvest. Hand-picked grapes are fermented in glassed concrete vats without temperature control, and pumping is done twice daily to keep the cap of the skins moist and thus more gently extract the tannins from the skins. After racking, malolactic fermentation begins in glassed concrete vats. Once fermentation is complete, the wine is left in barrels for approximately two years. The wines are aged in 5.5 to 18 hectoliter Slavonian and Ariel oak barrels and 225 liter Ariel oak barrels. The wines of the winery are never filtered, they are bottled by gravity.