Ficomontanino
Wines
Chiusi
“Zacinta Revi”, Toscana Bianco
Named after a beloved family horse, “Zacinta Revi” has evolved both in constituent varieties and in style as Maria Sole has experimented her way toward the kind of wine she wants it to be. Formerly 100% Sauvignon Blanc, then Sauvignon Blanc tempered with direct-pressed Sangiovese, this wine as of 2023 features totally new components: primarily Procanico (a local strain of Trebbiano Toscano with pinker skins and lower vigor), with a smaller proportion of Verdello. An older farmer friend of Maria Sole’s encouraged her to work with Procanico, which she planted several years ago using selection massale from a neighbor’s vineyards. The Procanico sees two days of maceration, which lends the final wine an understated and elegant sense of grip without taking it into full-on skin-contact-white territory. Aged six months on its fine lees in stainless steel after a natural fermentation without temperature control, this low-alcohol wine (usually 11.5% to 12%) is mouthwatering, brisk, and mineral-driven.
“Noble Kara”, Toscana Rosato
Named after one of Maria Sole’s grandfather’s favorite horses, “Noble Kara” claims its rightful place in the proud tradition of “real” rosé wines—rosés made from fully ripe, healthy grapes trusted to ferment on their own and allowed to express a natural depth of color (think great Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo here). Pure Sangiovese from three different parcels on the property—Ficomontanino, Melogranino, and Campo Cavalli—this vivacious wine spends 24 hours macerating on its skins before pressing and fermentation, which takes place in stainless steel via naturally occurring yeasts and with no temperature control. As with all her wines, Maria Sole bottles “Noble Kara” without fining or filtration, and with a minimum of sulfur.
Mondeuse, Toscana Rosso
Maria Sole’s father has a particular fondness for the mighty Mondeuse—a spice-driven Alpine variety that produces the Savoie’s greatest reds—and he planted a small parcel in the late 1990s at Ficomontanino as an experiment. These vines grow at 350 meters altitude in the sandy clay soils of the Vigna Grande parcel and yield only about 1,000 bottles per vintage. Maria Sole employs the same natural vinification and gentle extraction here as she does with her Sangiovese, but the darker-fruited, grippier, spicier character of the Mondeuse shines through beautifully. Fermented in cement with a 10-day maceration, this spent six further months in cement followed by a year in non-temperature-controlled stainless steel before being bottled without clarification or filtration.
“Bulgarelli”, Toscana Rosso
Maria Sole’s workhorse (pun intended) wine, “Bulgarelli”—named after her grandfather’s prized stallion—is pure Sangiovese from 20- to 30-year-old vines planted in the sandy clay soils of the farm’s main three parcels: Ficomontano, Melogranino, and Campo Cavalli. Fermented naturally, with a two-week maceration, the wine spends the better part of a year in a combination of cement and steel vats, bottled without fining or filtration. This wine pulls in multiple directions; it is both fresh and deep, both spicy and politely earthy, and its dark red fruits soar high, unfettered by cellar manipulations. The ever-versatile Sangiovese finds a new and lovely register here.
“Granomelo”, Toscana Rosso
“Granomelo”—a play on the name of the cru Melogranino from which it is sourced—is 100% Sangiovese from south-facing slopes of sandy clay and silt, planted 20 years ago by Maria Sole’s father. For this cuvée, she employs a longer maceration of three weeks and uses only cement for the fermentation, then ages the wine a full two winters in Slavonian-oak botti before bottling it without fining or filtration. This displays a frank and mesmerizing purity of fruit, but with a great sense of earthiness and a tenacious cling on the palate; it’s a union of sand-derived elegance and a certain wildness of spirit.
"Seraphina", Toscana Rosso
"Seraphina" is pure Sangiovese from 40-year-old vines aged for two years before bottling--its first year in above-ground amphora, and its second year in steel. Bottled without fining or filtration and with a minimal dose of sulfur, this tiny-production wine offers a combination of depth and freshness that speaks to Sangiovese's capacity for vivacity when it is not overhandled.