Wine Advisor
Montevertine, Le Pergole Torte 2009
View analysis
Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2009 Le Pergole Torte comes across as a smaller-scaled version of the 2007 in both size and style. The radiance of the fruit nearly covers the tannin, but there is more than enough underlying structure to provide balance. I imagine the 2009 will drink well relatively early because of its considerable richness, yet I also expect it to age gracefully for years. Anticipated maturity: 2017-2034. Montevertine is one of the reference point producers in Tuscany for ageworthy, traditionally made wines. The estate’s flagship, Le Pergole Torte, plays in the same league with the very finest wines in the world. Proprietor Martino Manetti describes 2010 as a year with constantly changing weather. An irregular flowering lowered yields. Rain interrupted the early part of the harvest before an Indian summer drenched with heat allowed the last phase of ripening to occur without further incident. In the warm 2009 vintage, these high-altitude, late-maturing vineyards got an extra shot of richness that filled out the wines without going to extremes. Readers may want to check out my vertical of the flagship Le Pergole Torte in this issue, as well as my video interview with Martino Manetti that is posted on our website. Importer: Rosenthal Wine Merchants, Pine Plains, NY; tel. (800) 910-1990
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2009 Le Pergole Torte is flat-out great. Layers of fruit wrap around the palate in this flashy, seductive Pergole Torte. There are no hard edges to be found. Sweet red cherries, roses, spices and mint are layered into the silky, radiant finish. The 2009 is a wine of extraordinary elegance. Today the 2009 comes across as a smaller scaled version of the 2007. This is also the first year of biological farming at Montevertine. Despite the heat wave in August, Martino Manetti waited until October 12 to bring the Sangiovese in. Anticipated maturity: 2017-2039. In a week during which I tasted most of the reference point Sangioveses and Sangiovese-based reds, one wine stuck out - Le Pergole Torte. Quite honestly, I had a hard time getting to sleep the night I tasted these wines. They were that viscerally thrilling. Le Pergole Torte isn’t a great Tuscan or Italian wine. It is simply one of the world’s elite wines. Montevertine is located in Radda, one of the coolest, highest-altitude spots in Chianti Classico. When I visited last April, the vineyards were noticeably more backward in their development relative to what I had seen in the other parts of the region. Le Pergole Torte was a groundbreaking wine when it was first conceived by proprietor Sergio Manetti in the early 1970s. At the time, Chianti Classico regulations obligated producers to include white grapes in their wines. Manetti dreamt of something else, a wine that would explore the greatness of Sangiovese. Along with noted oenologist Giulio Gambelli, Manetti created Le Pergole Torte, one of the first 100% Sangioveses made in Chianti Classico. Because it was made outside of appellation laws, the wine carried the humblest of all designations, ‘Vino da Tavola’ But the wine itself was fabulous, and the public soon caught on. In 1990 Manetti bottled a wine that would become an icon, the 1990 Riserva, which was an absurdity on paper, given the inherent contradiction of the terms ‘Vino da Tavola’ and ‘Riserva.’ To add to the irony, years later the Chianti Classico laws were updated. The obligatory use of complimentary white and red grapes was abolished, which meant Le Pergole Torte could be a Chianti Classico, but Manetti never returned to the appellation that had snubbed him. One of the misconceptions about Le Pergole Torte is that it is a single-vineyard wine. That was true of the early years up to the late 1980s. By 1990 Pergole Torte had become a selection of the estate’s best fruit across several parcels, although it wasn’t until 2001 that the fruit was sourced from the same basic complement of vineyards that is used today. Sadly, Sergio Manetti passed away in 2000. Manetti’s son Martino took over and adds that he is fully responsible for every wine beginning with the 2001, where he personally made all the decisions. Le Pergole Torte is vinified in cement. The wine is aged for one year in French oak barrels followed by a second year in cask. Martino Manetti isn’t afraid to call them as he sees them. Manetti describes 1985 and 1997 – both heavily touted years – as overrated. For this tasting, Manetti pulled a selection of vintages from his cellar, all based on their personal significance to him. Montevertine Le Pergole Torte Key Points: 1. 100% Sangiovese from the estate’s best fruit across all of the estate’s vineyards 2. Traditional vinification in cement. Aging first in French oak barrels, then cask 3. A delicate, refined expression of Sangiovese 4. Aging potential: 30+ years
Reviewed by: Monica Larner
This vintage is very similar to the 2007 edition in terms of intensity, fullness and suppleness. The 2009 Le Pergole Torte shows velvety rich and dark extraction with softly intense aromas of black cherry, spice and grilled rosemary. There's a piquant touch of cheese rind or creamy white chocolate hidden deep somewhere at the back. All of these aromatic elements build in momentum and power to bring the wine a big notch forward in terms of complexity and personality. This is one of the most distinctive wines made in Tuscany, and those singular Montevertine attributes are proudly on display here.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
This vintage is very similar to the 2007 edition in terms of intensity, fullness and suppleness. The 2009 Le Pergole Torte shows velvety rich and dark extraction with softly intense aromas of black cherry, spice and grilled rosemary. There's a piquant touch of cheese rind or creamy white chocolate hidden deep somewhere at the back. All of these aromatic elements build in momentum and power to bring the wine a big notch forward in terms of complexity and personality. This is one of the most distinctive wines made in Tuscany, and those singular Montevertine attributes are proudly on display here.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2009 Le Pergole Torte comes across as a smaller-scaled version of the 2007 in both size and style. The radiance of the fruit nearly covers the tannin, but there is more than enough underlying structure to provide balance. I imagine the 2009 will drink well relatively early because of its considerable richness, yet I also expect it to age gracefully for years.
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.
1988(1)1990(1)1992(1)1993(3)1994(2)1995(1)1996(1)1997(2)1998(3)1999(3)2000(2)2004(3)2006(3)2007(2)2008(1)
Package Size
