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2020 Montesecondo ‘Loupé’ Rosso
2020 Montesecondo ‘Loupé’ Rosso
Grapes: 90% Sangiovese, 5% Colorino, 5% Canaiolo
Region: Chianti <Tuscany <Italy
Viticulture/ cellar stats: Certified biodynamic farming; clay &
galestro soils, 12 day maceration in cement, aging for at least 1 yr
in cement; bottled unfined/unfiltered with <15ppm added So2; 13% ABV
Winemaker: Silvio Messana
In a previous life, Silvio Messana was a New Yorker. There had always
been this beautiful farm in Tuscany outside of Florence where Silvio’s
mother lived. They visited yearly. His father had planted vineyards
there in the early 1970’s. Since his death, his mother looked after
them and sold the grapes to a local négociant. In the mid 1990’s,
Silvio’s mother was ill and his family decided to move back to be near
her. By this time, Silvio had already developed a passion for wine in
the United States. With the certain impossibility of finding an
affordable rent in New York with three growing sons, Silvio and his
wife Catalina decided to stay on after his mother’s death, turning the
Chianti Classico farm into their home with a portion of the farm
converted as a half-year bed-and-breakfast. Silvio immediately began
working on the vineyards himself. Catalina was against using any
chemicals on the farm, insisting there must be a better way. Gradually
through introductions to winemakers outside of the region who were
using biodynamic practices (among them Nicolas Joly + Stefano Bellotti
of Cascina degli Ulivi), Silvio began to lose his fears and have faith
that it was possible. Their advice led the Messanas to take the leap
into natural farming and winemaking without the use of added yeasts or
other enhancers. In the meantime, piece by piece, Silvio built a
winemaking facility with his own hands (there was a small winemaking
“garage” on the estate before) and things fell into place.
The true one-off "Loupé" 2020 bottling is the result of an
administrative error at the winery: it comes from a single tank
destined to be Chianti Classico but overlooked during the DOCG
certification process, hence "loupé" or "missed/skipped" in French.
As for all Montesecondo wines, the fruit was biodynamically farmed;
harvested by hand; mostly destemmed; and fermented spontaneously with
indigenous yeasts and without sulfur in concrete tank. The maceration
was the Chianti's length of around 12 days but its aging was in tank
only, the usual treatment for Montesecondo's IGT Sangiovese (no foudre
since it had missed the Chianti cut-off by that time). And we love
when Sangiovese gets the concrete treatment, instead of wood. Somehow
the end result is softer, friendlier, more gulpable, while still
retaining those pretty Sangiovese notes of red fruit, tomato and
earth. This is the Chianti we want to be drinking, but sadly, since
it was a one-off barrel, it won't last long. Grab some now.
Region: Chianti <Tuscany <Italy
Viticulture/ cellar stats: Certified biodynamic farming; clay &
galestro soils, 12 day maceration in cement, aging for at least 1 yr
in cement; bottled unfined/unfiltered with <15ppm added So2; 13% ABV
Winemaker: Silvio Messana
In a previous life, Silvio Messana was a New Yorker. There had always
been this beautiful farm in Tuscany outside of Florence where Silvio’s
mother lived. They visited yearly. His father had planted vineyards
there in the early 1970’s. Since his death, his mother looked after
them and sold the grapes to a local négociant. In the mid 1990’s,
Silvio’s mother was ill and his family decided to move back to be near
her. By this time, Silvio had already developed a passion for wine in
the United States. With the certain impossibility of finding an
affordable rent in New York with three growing sons, Silvio and his
wife Catalina decided to stay on after his mother’s death, turning the
Chianti Classico farm into their home with a portion of the farm
converted as a half-year bed-and-breakfast. Silvio immediately began
working on the vineyards himself. Catalina was against using any
chemicals on the farm, insisting there must be a better way. Gradually
through introductions to winemakers outside of the region who were
using biodynamic practices (among them Nicolas Joly + Stefano Bellotti
of Cascina degli Ulivi), Silvio began to lose his fears and have faith
that it was possible. Their advice led the Messanas to take the leap
into natural farming and winemaking without the use of added yeasts or
other enhancers. In the meantime, piece by piece, Silvio built a
winemaking facility with his own hands (there was a small winemaking
“garage” on the estate before) and things fell into place.
The true one-off "Loupé" 2020 bottling is the result of an
administrative error at the winery: it comes from a single tank
destined to be Chianti Classico but overlooked during the DOCG
certification process, hence "loupé" or "missed/skipped" in French.
As for all Montesecondo wines, the fruit was biodynamically farmed;
harvested by hand; mostly destemmed; and fermented spontaneously with
indigenous yeasts and without sulfur in concrete tank. The maceration
was the Chianti's length of around 12 days but its aging was in tank
only, the usual treatment for Montesecondo's IGT Sangiovese (no foudre
since it had missed the Chianti cut-off by that time). And we love
when Sangiovese gets the concrete treatment, instead of wood. Somehow
the end result is softer, friendlier, more gulpable, while still
retaining those pretty Sangiovese notes of red fruit, tomato and
earth. This is the Chianti we want to be drinking, but sadly, since
it was a one-off barrel, it won't last long. Grab some now.
Regular price
$28.00
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$28.00
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