Montepeloso 2020 'Eneo' Costa Toscana IGT

Tucked away in the hills of Suvereto near Bolgheri on the Tuscan Coast is the 15-acre Montepeloso estate. Fabio Chiarelotto purchased the estate of Montepeloso in 1998, after years working in academia as an historian. While the estate had achieved renown under the former owners, Chiarelotto believed it held the potential to take quality even higher. Looking to the future, Chiarelotto decided to drastically restructure (i.e., cut back) the vines in early 1999. As the estate emerged from those changes, his healthier vineyards and growing understanding of the wines has positioned this estate to achieve even greater levels of quality. Chiarelotto’s focus is to shape coastal Tuscan wine with local varieties.

Technical Information:  Fruit is destemmed except for up to 10% of the Sangiovese stems. Vineyards lie at an elevation between 50-100 meters. The original Sangiovese and Cabernet Sauvingon vines were planted between 1973-1980 at 4,000/hA. New plantings since 1999 are up to 8,500/hA. No filtration is used.
 

Winemaking:  Eneo is made from 45% Sangiovese, 35% Montepulciano, 15% Alicante and 5% Marselan. Grapes are harvested by hand in the first two weeks in October. The wine is aged in second, third, and fourth passage barriques and tonneaux for 18 months. 

While the two luxury  cuvées  get much of the press attention, Eneo has quietly achieved a rabid following of its own.