After a vertical tasting of Pergole Torte, Antonio Galloni wrote: “Quite honestly, I had a hard time getting to sleep ... they were that viscerally thrilling.” 

And Monica Larner adds that it is “one of Tuscany’s most legendary wines.” 

Since its creation by Sergio Manetti in 1977, Montevertine’s Le Pergole Torte has been, without question, the most revered Super Tuscan not made from Bordeaux varietals. 

It is—along with Masseto, Sassicaia and Solaia—one of the great Tuscan blue chips. 

Terroir Meets Vision

Antonio Galloni has called the Montevertine estate “one of the most privileged spots for wine anywhere in the world.” 

Yet, despite its location in the heart of the Chianti Classico zone, there is no Chianti made here. The estate’s founder Sergio Manetti was one of the earliest producers to rebel against the consorzio’s requirement that white grapes be included in the blend, ultimately withdrawing from the appellation in 1981.  

Instead, Manetti decided to only work with Sangiovese, reveling in his terroir’s perfect adptation to this historic variety. And to guide him in his work, he hired Giulio Gambelli who, at the same time, was also guiding Gianfranco Soldera to his future greatness.

Together, they created Le Pergole Torte, a selection of the best Sangiovese from Manetti’s original vineyard of the same name. The first commercial release from 1977 quickly gained a strong following for its pure expression of its high-altitude Radda terroir, in a Sangiovese of stunning refinement and complexity. 

Today

Today, Sergio’s son Martino remains committed to the style and philosophy of his father. And with its oldest vines now over fifty years of age, Pergole Torte is greater than ever before.

Montevertine’s providential albarese and galestro slopes, located nearly a half kilometer above sea level, are ideal for Sangiovese. While for many years Pergole Torte was a single-vineyard wine, today Martino makes it from a selection of fruit from the oldest vines in his best three parcels. 

The wine is still sourced primarily from the original, northeast-facing Le Pergole Torte vineyard. But it is now complemented by old-vine fruit from the south- and southwest-facing Montevertine and Il Sodaccio vigneti, adding further power and richness to the wine’s inherent elegance. 

Fermentation and maceration with the native yeasts takes place over three weeks in large concrete vats, with gentle extraction for fine structure, followed by 18 months in botti and a final six months in barrique. All of the barrels used are neutral. 

The result is the ultimate Sangiovese and a wine which, in Galloni’s words, “plays in the same league with the very finest wines in the world.”