Why it matters
The producer
Castello di Monterinaldi is a Chianti Classico estate on the Monterinaldi hill between Panzano and Radda in Chianti, where a castle that has stood since 1010 anchors 50 hectares of Sangiovese-dominant vines. The vineyards are not simply a uniform block: in 1961, the estate was reorganised into 17 separate plots, each defined by its own clone selection, altitude, soil type, and ground character. The vineyards are divided into 17 parcels.
Paolo Nocentini acquired the estate in 2023. The hill sits at the geographic centre of Chianti Classico, the zone of Sangiovese-based red wine running from Greve in Chianti south toward Castelnuovo Berardenga, where the Florentine wine law codified in 1716 first marked out these hillsides as worth distinguishing. Monterinaldi sits near the northern end of that zone, above the Pesa river valley.
Place and vineyards
Where the wines begin
The Monterinaldi hill forms a southwest-facing amphitheatre at 400 metres above sea level. That orientation is not accidental: afternoon sun drives Sangiovese to full phenolic development while morning coolness and the breezes that cross the hill preserve acidity into harvest. The result in the glass is Sangiovese that can carry both ripe, warm fruit and a firm acid line at the same time.
Below the vines, the Pesa river runs at the base of the hill. Around and between the parcels, forests and olive groves break up the vineyard canopy, moderating temperatures and supporting the insect and microbial diversity the estate relies on under organic management. For labelling purposes, wines produced here carry the Chianti Classico DOCG designation, which requires a minimum of 80 percent Sangiovese and governs yields, ageing, and release timing.
In the cellar
Vineyards and cellar
The 17 parcels are distinguished by Sangiovese clone as well as physical characteristics. Different clones of Sangiovese vary in berry size, skin thickness, acidity expression, and aromatic profile, so separating them in the vineyard allows the cellar to decide how to blend or keep them distinct depending on vintage character. Each parcel's altitude and soil type add further variation: higher plots on galestro give wines with more acidity and aromatic lift; lower or heavier-soil sections contribute body and darker fruit.
Alongside the dominant Sangiovese, the estate maintains plantings of Malvasia and Canaiolo, the two varieties historically permitted in Chianti blends, as well as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Syrah. Their role in the current range is not confirmed beyond their presence in the vineyard.
Wines to know
The range in view
The core wine is Chianti Classico, a Sangiovese-dominant red that carries the DOCG's requirements for minimum grape composition, yield limits, and a minimum ageing period before release. At this level, Sangiovese from the 17 parcels moves through concrete and French oak, producing a wine that sits between the lighter, fruit-forward style of basic Chianti Classico and the more concentrated expressions of Riserva or Gran Selezione.
The 2020 Chianti Classico opens with vanilla, clove, Bing cherry, orange peel, and a note of potting soil. On the palate it is simultaneously sweet and warm in its fruit presentation, earthy in its mid-palate movement, with tannins that sharpen rather than soften the cherry, orange, and raspberry fruit through the finish. That tannin behaviour is characteristic of Sangiovese on galestro: firm but not grippy, giving the wine a dry finish with grip rather than softness.
A useful way in
A bottle to begin with
The Chianti Classico is the bottle to start with here. It is Sangiovese from the 17 parcels on galestro and pietraforte, aged in a combination of concrete and French oak, carrying the DOCG designation that marks the wine as coming from the historic central zone of Tuscan Sangiovese production. In the glass it gives vanilla, clove, and cherry on the nose, a warm and earthy palate, and firm tannins on a dry finish. It is not a soft or easy wine: the tannins are genuine and need either time or food, and the earthy mid-palate is part of the wine's character rather than a flaw.