A Super Tuscan in a league of its own

I absolutely love the class and elegance on display here, says Matthew Jukes – and it doesn't cost a silly price.

Matthew Jukes
By
published
in Features

868-wine-634

2012 Monteti, Tenuta Monteti, Maremma, Tuscany, Italy (£28.50, or £25.75 each for a case of 12 bottles, magnums and double magnums on request, Lea & Sandeman, 020-7244 0522, LeaAndSandeman.co.uk).

It's interesting how the petit verdot grape keeps popping up in conversation these days. Back in April, in Bordeaux, a good few of the chteaux mentioned that they were planting more and when I tasted this "Super Tuscan" the other day I was delighted to see that this underrated grape majored in the blend 55% petit verdot, 25% cabernet sauvignon and 20% cabernet franc.

Monteti is made from 28 different micro-plots, which are all vinified separately in bespoke vats. You can taste the care and attention that goes into this intricately assembled wine. It is like a vintage car purring on a forecourt, pristine and glinting in the sun, begging you to get in for a tear around the countryside.

Subscribe to MoneyWeek

Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE

Get 6 issues free
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/mw70aro6gl1676370748.jpg

Sign up to Money Morning

Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter

Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter

Sign up

I absolutely love the class and elegance on display here and, because it is not a silly price, I venture that Monteti is in a league of its own. Every reader should buy a case every palate will adore this wine, I promise. With my PV aerials tuned in, I spotted another stunning version for your delectation, this time from Chile.

The 2011 Curis Petit Verdot Grand Reserve (£14.99, Adnams.co.uk) goes further with 88% petit verdot and only 12% cabernet sauvignon in the mix and it titillates the fruit with both French and American oak it is another thriller!

Matthew Jukes is a winner of the InternationalWine & Spirit Competition's Communicator of the Year (MatthewJukes.com).

Matthew Jukes
Matthew Jukes

Matthew Jukes has worked in the UK wine business for well over three decades and during this time has written 14 wine books.  

Matthew regularly lectures, judges, speaks at wine conferences and runs masterclass tastings for both corporate and private clients all over the world. Matthew is also the creator of his ground-breaking initiative, the One Day Wine School, an indulgent day of tasting and learning first performed in 2006.

He has been the MoneyWeek wine correspondent since 2006 and has written a weekly column for the Daily Mail’s Weekend Magazine since 1999. His four highly-acclaimed, annual wine reports – the Burgundy En Primeur Report, the Bordeaux En Primeur Report, the Piemonte Report and the 100 Best Australian Wines – are published on his website, www.matthewjukes.com.

Matthew is one of the world’s leading experts on Australian wine and, with Brisbane-based wine writer Tyson Stelzer, runs an annual competition in Australia to find ‘The Great Australian Red’.  He was made Honorary Australian of the Year in the UK at the 2012 Australia Day Foundation Gala dinner. 

Matthew is a winner of the International Wine and Spirit Competition's Communicator of the Year Trophy.  His thoughts, recommendations and tastings notes are followed very closely by the wine world at large.

 

Latest