Why it matters
The producer
Vecchia Cantina di Montepulciano is a grower-owned cooperative at the heart of one of Tuscany's oldest named wine territories. It was founded in 1937 by fourteen local producers who chose to pool their harvests rather than sell grapes in bulk, and it made its first bottling under its own label three years later. Today it draws from roughly 400 member growers farming approximately 1,000 hectares spread across municipalities in both Tuscany and Umbria, making it the largest cooperative in its local area and, by its own account, the oldest in Tuscany.
The scale matters for the wines. Vecchia Cantina is a collective enterprise, not a family domaine with a single parcel vision. Its goal is affordable Vino Nobile di Montepulciano made from Prugnolo Gentile, the local name for Sangiovese, aged in Slavonian-oak casks in two purpose-built underground cellars outside the hilltop town. Many buyers encounter the Vino Nobile appellation for the first time through this cooperative's bottles.
Place and vineyards
Where the wines begin
Montepulciano is a medieval hilltop town in the southeastern corner of Tuscany, roughly halfway between Siena and Orvieto. The Vino Nobile di Montepulciano DOCG covers vineyards on slopes between roughly 250 and 600 metres above sea level, in a territory that benefits from a continental climate moderated by altitude. Winters are cold and summers are warm and dry, conditions that push Prugnolo Gentile toward firm tannin and concentrated red fruit while the elevation preserves acidity and gives wines the capacity to age.
In the cellar
Vineyards and cellar
With 1,000 hectares spread across multiple municipalities and around 400 member growers, Vecchia Cantina manages its vineyards through individual member cultivation rather than a single unified farming programme. Grapes are brought into two vinification centres: the main site outside Montepulciano and the Montepulciano Scalo facility. The cooperative has invested in both bottling infrastructure and visitor reception as part of a recent round of winery improvements.
Oak ageing takes place in two underground cellars. The older 1972 tunnel holds 160 Slavonian-oak casks of varying capacity; Slavonian oak is wider-grained than French oak, which imparts less pronounced wood flavour and allows the Prugnolo Gentile fruit to remain more forward. The modern cellar, built in 2001, holds 250 casks at 35 or 85 hectolitres, sizes that reduce the ratio of oak surface to wine volume compared to smaller barrels, resulting in gentler, slower oxygenation and a lighter wood imprint on the finished wine.
Wines to know
The range in view
Vecchia Cantina's range centres on Vino Nobile di Montepulciano DOCG, the appellation's principal red. The Vino Nobile is built from Prugnolo Gentile and aged in the cooperative's Slavonian-oak casks for the DOCG minimum before bottling. It sits at the serious end of the cooperative's offer and carries the weight and ageing capacity associated with the appellation.
Poggio Stella is a second wine in the range. The 2017 vintage was reviewed at the 2022 IWSC and received a bronze result, noted for plum and bramble fruit with a herbal finish and oak ageing. Its character places it closer to an approachable everyday red than to the structured DOCG tier.
A useful way in
A bottle to begin with
Start with the Vino Nobile di Montepulciano DOCG. It is the bottle that justifies the cooperative's existence: Prugnolo Gentile from 1,000 member hectares across the appellation's hillside territory, aged in large Slavonian-oak casks, and released at a price point that would be impossible for a small estate to match at the same appellation level. The wine is firm and savoury, with red-berry fruit shading toward dried herb and spice after a few years in bottle, and a tannic grip that benefits from food, particularly red meat or aged Tuscan cheeses. It does not chase softness or oak sweetness.