Founded in 1974, Avignonesi boasts over half a century of winemaking tradition in Tuscany, although its Le Capezzine estate was founded in the 19th century to promote agricultural innovation. With 308ha of land today, including woodland, arable land and olive groves as well as vineyards, its polycultural farming philosophy stimulates biodiversity.
For the last 15 years, Avignonesi has realigned its goals, aiming to produce the finest terroir-driven wines via interpretation rather than intervention. One of these projects highlights the potential of the Vino Nobile di Montepulciano territory through the lens of a single vineyard, Poggetto di Sopra.
Poggetto di Sopra is produced from different plots every year – those that provided the fruit for each vintage are highlighted on map of the vineyard on the front label.
Poggetto di Sopra: Sangiovese at its finest
Poggetto di Sopra is the result of a deep understanding of the vineyard, where the estate’s oldest vines – planted in 1978 – translate the silt, limestone and blue sodium clay matrix of subsoils into ethereal Sangiovese, transparent of vintage and rich in complexity and nuance. Vibrant, fleshy red berries, violets and a long balsamic finish mark this out as a refined Sangiovese.
To truly anchor the wine in the vineyard, a pied de cuve is made from an initial batch of the harvested grapes, creating a starter from which the yeast naturally present on the grape skins can multiply, ready to carry out alcoholic fermentation.
And just as fickle nature ebbs and flows, so the plots selected change every year. This is reflected on the front label: a plan of the vineyard highlights the plots that provided the fruit for each vintage.
The 2021 vintage was one of exceptional quality for Avignonesi. Credit: Mammafotogramma
Desiderio: A wine steeped in history and vision
Poggetto di Sopra underlines the beauty of the local Sangiovese grape; Avignonesi’s 100% Merlot, Desiderio, on the other hand, gives a taste of how international varieties flourish in Tuscany. First made in 1988, the wine is named after a famous Chianina bull, the largest in Tuscany at the time, that lived on the estate over 100 years ago – and is depicted majestically on the label.
Desiderio’s Merlot grapes are sourced from three different sites with varying expositions and altitudes, and the wine draws its character from the deep, blue-clay-rich soils of Cortona and Montepulciano. Cortona’s soils have a strong fluvial clay origin, and were formed from sedimentation during the Pleistocene (3 million-120,000 years ago); the moderately deep, silty clay soils of Montepulciano date from the Pliocene (3-5 million years ago).
Vinification takes place in stainless steel tanks for freshness and vibrancy, then ageing takes place in French oak barriques for 24 months for complexity and harmony. The result is fragrant and linear, silky and juicy, with notes of black tea, rhubarb, graphite and cardamom.
While Desiderio’s label is dominated by the eponymous bull, the background details change each year to reflect events that shaped the vintage: heatwaves, rainstorms and more.
Avignonesi is a certified organic and biodynamic winery, committed to the highest environmental and ethical standards, and has been certified as a B Corporation since 2021.
Each vintage of Desiderio has a unique label, commemorating the conditions and events that shaped the wine that year.
The 2021 vintage
A vintage of unsurpassed quality; early spring was unusually warm but subsequent frost in April caused substantial damage, affecting yields. Vines were able to access abundant water reserves during the relatively mild yet dry summer, ensuring perfect ripening and perfectly healthy grapes.
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