TN: 2016 Montenidoli - Vernaccia di San Gimignano Tradizionale (Italy, Tuscany, San Gimignano)

2016 Montenidoli Vernaccia di San Gimignano Tradizionale - Italy, Tuscany, San Gimignano, Vernaccia di San Gimignano (3/17/2020)
– popped and poured –
– tasted non-blind over a couple hours –

NOSE: expressive; orange blossom; a bit of an orange wine-type of presentation.

BODY: medium-light bodied; light amber color; Diam10 cork.

TASTE: mineral bomb!! very light cider note & slightly woodsy; very dry; empty rear palate; 13.5% alc. not noticeable; Drink Now. Gut impression score: 89

I love Montenidoli.

And Elisabetta. One of my favorite people in the wine business.

Mine too, Greg. She lights up the room.

I wish I had her energy. Here she is a month ago, before all hell broke loose. I like her wines.

She was on that Italian tour just a few weeks ago talking and shaking hands with hundreds of people. I hope she’s OK and in good health.

I was recently introduced to Elisabetta and her wines. Came away impressed by both.

I agree.

I’m a fan of these wines too. Vernaccia is usually extremely boring, yet these are definitely not.

Vernaccia is. Vernaccia di San Gimignano is a whole different beast altogether. Much harder to find boring wines made from that variety.

The same thing with Malvasia vs. Malvasia Istrana, or Trebbiano vs. Trebbiano d’Abruzzo (or Trebbiano Spoletino). Don’t be confused by the name.

Btw, if 2016 was a solid vintage in Tuscany yet their Vernaccia is “drink now” at this moment, I hope the vintage 2013 I have in my cellar is still in sound condition!

I should have made the distinction, but I still find most Vernaccia di San Gimignano that I try very generic tasting and lacking any depth or complexity. Maybe I’m trying the wrong ones.

Have you tried any with proper age? Many great wines of the world can feel quite generic and undistinguished when tasted young. Whereas generic (boring) Vernaccia tends to fade away with age, Vernaccia di San Gimignano tends to age for years really well.

No, I haven’t. I’d like to know what (other?) great wines you think can seem generic and undistinguished when young. I can’t think of any. Nowhere near the level of complexity that age will bring? Sure. But generic? I don’t know…

I am mystified by both parts of this. Great wines often don’t show much when young, but that’s not the same as ‘generic and undistinguished’. And I have found most Vernaccia di San Gimignano insipid. On the other hand the fact that there’s one great one shows it’s possible.

I’ve had tons of great wines blind that have felt rather undistinguished when tasting them too young. Pibarnon Bandol, Mastroberardino Taurasi and Emidio Pepe Montepulciano d’Abruzzo right off the bat. All of them wines I’ve had young and then several years later, showing tons of improvement. Also, many of the Cantina Terlan wines can feel anonymous soon after release and start to show their true colors only with some age.

At this point I feel compelled to mention that I have zero experience with this variety. I discovered it about a year ago, during a trip to Italy. I think we were introduced to it in Florence at lunch; afterwards I found a local wine shop and bought this Montenidoli at random — based on the comments here, looks like I lucked-into picking a good one! I was going to consume it during the trip, but it just never happened, and here we are a year later …

You hit the jackpot, Brian.

Or Trebbiano di Soave! I recently had the 2016 Suavia Massifitti that was fabulous.

Indeed - although Trebbiano (aka. Trebbiano Toscano) and Trebbiano d’Abruzzo are the actual names for the varieties, whereas Trebbiano di Soave is just one of the many synonyms for Verdicchio, which isn’t related to either Trebbiano.

But agree with the part calling Suavia Massifitti fabulous - it’s consistently one of the best Verdicchios and whites from Veneto that I know! A stunning wine.