Notes from Rosenthal Wine Merchant:

"Montevertine is situated in the heart of the Chianti district about halfway between Florence and Siena, specifically 3 kilometers or so south of Radda in Chianti. Documents attest to the fact that the hilltop hamlet of Montevertine was first inhabited in the 11th century as a rural defensive fortress. There are traces of the original construction on the site today. Sergio Manetti acquired Montevertine in 1967 as a vacation home for his family. Once there, Signor Manetti planted two hectares of vineyards and built a small cantina with the idea of producing some wine for family and friends. The first vintage produced and bottled under the supervision of Signor Manetti was 1971 and was received with great praise for its quality. Shortly thereafter, Signor Manetti abandoned his principal activity to devote himself to producing wine at his magnificent estate.

Having recognized the importance of the Sangiovese grape, Signor Manetti crafted his wines with an almost exclusive reliance on that grape variety. By 1981, due to Signor Manetti’s refusal to incorporate Trebbiano into the Montevertine blend, Montevertine left the Chianti Classico consortium, thereby forgoing the Chianti Classico denomination. In time the consortium recognized the wisdom of Manetti’s stance but Montevertine remains outside the consortium, simply labeling its wines “Rosso di Toscana”. Because of these circumstances, Montevertine is frequently, but erroneously, included in the category of “super-Tuscan” wine. In fact, Montevertine’s policy of strict reliance on Sangiovese with a small complement of Colorino and Canaiolo is in direct contradiction to the approach of the “super-Tuscan” group of wines which purposely include non-local grape varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Merlot in their blends. Despite the formal lack of the appellation, Montevertine is one of the rare examples of a true Chianti Classico.

Le Pergole Torte is the prestige wine of Montevertine and is only produced in outstanding vintages. This ultimate wine is aged in large Slavonian oak barrels for 18 months and then racked into small French oak (Allier) barrels for the final six month stage of its elevage. It is produced primarily from a two hectare vineyard planted in 1968 exclusively to Sangiovese vines with a north-northeast exposure.