Why it matters
The producer
Tenute del Cerro holds more registered vineyard in the Vino Nobile di Montepulciano DOCG than any other private producer in the appellation. That position dates to 1978, when the group acquired Fattoria del Cerro in Acquaviva, a hilltop property outside the town of Montepulciano in southern Tuscany that the Baiocchi family had been farming since 1922. The acquisition brought 56 years of established vine history into the group at once.
From that anchor the group expanded across central Italy: La Poderina in Montalcino for Brunello, Còlpetrone in Umbria's Montefalco for Sagrantino, Villetta di Monterufoli on the Tuscan coast, and Montecorona in Umbertide. Today the five estates cover 300 hectares of vineyards within roughly 5,000 hectares of land. CEO Antonio Donato leads the group, which is also part of the Wine Research Team, a network of 35 producers sharing vineyard and cellar research.
Place and vineyards
Where the wines begin
Acquaviva sits on the slopes below the fortified hilltop of Montepulciano, in the province of Siena. The landscape is inland Tuscany at its most compact: clay-rich soils, moderate elevation, and an orientation that shifts from south-facing to east-facing across the estate's 181 hectares under vine. That range of exposition matters because no single vintage ripens every parcel equally. With 93 hectares registered for Vino Nobile, Fattoria del Cerro can select the parcels best suited to each year rather than committing to a single block.
Vino Nobile di Montepulciano DOCG is a classified red wine appellation built on Prugnolo Gentile, a Sangiovese variant long adapted to this particular clay terrain and inland climate. The appellation name includes Montepulciano as the town, not as a grape: Vino Nobile has no connection to the Montepulciano grape used in Abruzzo. The wine must be predominantly Prugnolo Gentile and carries mandatory ageing requirements before release.
In the cellar
Vineyards and cellar
At Fattoria del Cerro, the 93 registered hectares are farmed for Vino Nobile selection across varied exposures. The estate's stated approach is to match parcel selection to vintage character: a warm year draws on earlier-ripening parcels, a cooler year on south-facing blocks. Prugnolo Gentile responds well to this kind of vintage-specific sourcing because the clone accumulates tannin reliably across different sites but reaches aromatic completeness on a narrower window.
La Poderina holds yields to an average of 60 quintals per hectare, against a regulatory ceiling of 80. Wines mature in French oak barriques alongside large barrels, giving the cellar two ageing registers: the aromatic integration that comes from smaller oak and the structural broadening that comes from large-format ageing.
Wines to know
The range in view
Fattoria del Cerro produces Vino Nobile di Montepulciano DOCG and a Riserva from its Acquaviva vineyards. The Marastoni label represents the standard appellation wine: predominantly Prugnolo Gentile with a smaller proportion of Merlot, sourced from multiple parcels within the estate. The Riserva level draws on stricter selection and carries longer mandatory ageing before release, producing a wine with firmer tannin and a more concentrated mid-palate than the standard Vino Nobile.
La Poderina contributes Rosso di Montalcino and Brunello di Montalcino from Sangiovese Grosso, the Brunello clone. The Rosso is the earlier-release wine, aged for a shorter period with more direct cherry fruit and lighter body. Brunello di Montalcino carries a five-year minimum ageing requirement and builds to dried fruit, leather, and earthy depth.
A useful way in
A bottle to begin with
Start with the Marastoni Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. It is Prugnolo Gentile with a portion of Merlot, sourced from multiple parcels across the estate's 93 registered hectares and aged 18 months before release. In the glass it gives sour cherry, dried herbs, and a clean mineral note, with firm acidity on the palate and tannin that holds the finish without dominating it. The Merlot softens the mid-palate just enough to make the wine approachable without stripping the Prugnolo Gentile character that defines the appellation.