Montenidoli, Vernaccia di San Gimignano ‘Fiore’ 2019

Elisabetta Fagiuoli and her husband Sergio founded their 50 hectare winery in 1965, on a hillside across the valley from the picturesque Tuscan town of San Gimignano.

Montenidoli means “mountain of little nests” and with its forested reaches and populations of swallows it’s easy to understand how it came by that name. Elisabetta’s vineyards are situated on some of the oldest rock in Italy, and she claims that vines were first planted here by the Etruscans in the 7^th century BC. Everything is organic at the estate and ‘Fiore’ is made from free-run must before the grapes are pressed. The resulting wine is then kept on the lees for much longer than normal giving up an elegant and delicately balanced wine.

A very pale lemon-yellow in the glass, this wine has an unusual nose of cucumber, lemon and and white flowers. In the mouth the wine is vibrant, bright and crisp with a stony minerality accompanied by flavours of green apple and lemongrass. Perfectly balanced, with a delicate acidity and a clean finish.

This wine could be cellared for 3-4 years.

Grapes: Vernaccia

Abv: 13%

Bottle: 750ml

A fantastic for roasted cauliflower salad finished with Pecorino cheese, cured Salmon with apple & celeriac