The Producers
Nobile is a boutique wine region. It is made of passionate people who have have dedicated their lives to this incredibly fascinating business called winemaking.
Most of the wineries here have been family run for generations. Others are guided by families who have moved here more recently and have committed to a radical change of lifestyle.
Albiera Antinori
“One of the finest wines that has always been produced in Tuscany is Nobile di Montepulciano, but its reputation has faded in the past years. We have therefore decided to work together with other leading wineries from the region to develop initiatives to improve and rejuvenate this classic wine. By pooling our ideas, expectations and technical-productive expertise, we have agreed on our quality-oriented objectives for the future of this exceptional “NOBILE” wine”.
La Braccesca
La Braccesca covers 508 hectares of land where once used to be the ancient farm of the Bracci Counts, from which the winery takes its name and emblem: an arm covered by an armor holding a sword. The Marchesi Antinori family acquired La Braccesca estate in the early 1990’s attracted by the exceptional quality of Sangiovese grapes grown in the Montepulciano region. There are 340 hectares of vines divided in two main parts: the first one of 366 hectares of which 237 are vines, between Montepulciano and Cortona. The other part of the estate is 142 hectares of which 103 planted with vines, in the area of Montepulciano between three main areas which are ideal for the production of red wines: Cervognano, Santa Pia and Gracciano.
Matteo Giustiniani
“The most important tool in caring for our vineyards is observation. We commit considerable manpower to listening to our vineyards and gaining intimate knowledge about the soil, the plants and the climate. Our goal is to produce genuine wines that mirror the beauty of Tuscany, expressing the special traits of every single vintage. We launched the Alliance with a view of giving Nobile its proper voice within the international wine arena, to elevate and preserve a wine of true nobility.” VIRGINIE SAVERYS. Avignonesi’s CEO Matteo Giustiniani, added “All the producers of the Alliance are in for the long haul. Their work on regenerating the soil is both an understanding of today and an investment in tomorrow. They are friends, and they share a transparent vision, happy in the knowledge that a united one can do so much more.”.
Avignonesi
Avignonesi was acquired by Virginie Saverys in 2009, who has worked tirelessly since then to convert the entire property to organic and biodynamic viticulture, with the clear goal of crafting distinctive wines, that combine the satisfaction of quality drinking with positive environmental outcomes. Since 2011 the winery is farmed biodinamically, in 2016 it obtains the organic certification, in 2019 the biodynamic certification with Biodyvin and since summer 2022 it’s a certified B Corporation, which identifies companies with the highest social, environmental and accountability standards.
The winery currently owns eight properties, covering 400 acres of vineyards spread over the Montepulciano and Cortona appellations. Besides vines, Avignonesi also farms various crops (alfalfa, small spelt and ancient varieties of local wheat like Verna and Senatore Cappelli), it has 7 hectares of olive groves, a synergic vegetable garden, a compost pile, and has several bee colonies throughout the estate.
Today Avignonesi continuously renews its commitment to excellence and quality, focusing its efforts on producing DOCG wines made of 100% Sangiovese, through the support of ultramodern technology and a young and international team of winemakers and agronomists.
Virginie is deeply committed to the rediscovery of the Nobile as a Tuscan Classic, and joined the Alliance project with a view of promoting Nobile’s unique qualities within the international wine arena.
Carletti family
“My family’s first contact with the world of wine was in 1961 when my father, Dino Carletti, bought 52 acres of land in the town of Montepulciano and planted the first specialized vineyards of this territory. At the end of the 80s, a delicate moment in time because of the economic crisis and the decline in consumption, I accepted the challenge to take over the management of Poliziano, designing a new, more contemporary path and production philosophy, a reflection of my personal vision of agriculture.
Even today my passion for the art of winemaking has driven me to use the most advanced techniques in viticulture and international enology as a benchmark. My objective for the future is to further strengthen the peculiar features of Poliziano’s wines, as they arise from new vineyards. It is a continuous and passionate exploration, a never- faltering desire to improve the quality of our wines and create the best expression of our terroir.
Currently, my actions are dominated not only by the research in organic farming, sustainability and the refined features of my land, but also to pass down all this to my daughter and son, Maria Stella and Francesco, who are already working at the estate and doing research on the most suitable terroirs of our farm.
The Alliance is an extraordinary opportunity for discussion and exchange among talented wine producing families which will allow us to introduce the “Nobile” system to the world.”
Poliziano
Michele Manelli
“Passion, quality, territory, sharing. Those are all dimensions each wine grower is fostering, along with their entrepreneurial project, a personal lifelong one. Participating to the Alliance means being even more committed and coherent in doing so.”
Salcheto
Salco in the ancient Tuscan language means willow tree, an important plant for wine regions throughout history, as its branches were used to bind and tie vines. Salcheto is the name of the stream, which springs at the foot of the town of Montepulciano and winds through a valley where willows abounded. This stream is the boundary of our organic and biodynamic estate, rooted in the historic district of Vino Nobile, in the southeast of the Siena province of Tuscany. The willow tree, a species that we continue to replant at the winery, also contributes to the winery’s energy independence, is today prominently represented in our logo as part of our commitment to environmental sustainability.
More than thirty years after its inception, Salcheto expresses itself through an innovative image that reflects its path and the goals achieved: terroir and Sangiovese oriented wines, focused on drinkability and aromatic accuracy, most of which are sulphite free and made with indigenous yeasts. Our winemaking philosophy is deeply focused on reducing its ecological impact, continuously aiming at reducing its carbon and water footprint, with an off-grid cellar that is energetically independent, and a very special glass bottle that minimizes its environmental impact. This path culminates in Salco, the name of the estate’s most mature vineyard, and today more than ever, a symbol of Salcheto’s excellence in winemaking. Year after year, this extraordinary single vineyard wine tells the story of a harvest with its “vintage” release.
Salcheto today has 120 acres of vineyard, producing on average 300000 bottles, which are exported to 26 countries. The cellar is located near the old town of Montepulciano and offers a variety of guest services. At the Estate, besides winemaking we also produce olive oil and truffles for our restaurant, and raise honeybees, that gift us with organic honey; we also create glasses and candles that are offered for sale from recycling by-products of our production processes.
De Ferrari family
The story of our winery begins in 1962, with a dream of its founder, Egidio Corradi: to produce a Vino Nobile that would enhance the aromas and tastes of its place of origin, with the elegance that he loved so much. In 1962 his endless passion for wine and the deep knowledge of his land led him to purchase two small abandoned rural properties in an area that is ideal for viticulture: Cervognano di Montepulciano. Until then the parcels of land were cultivated in the traditional way: various annual cultivations and a small part with vines.
The founder’s vision was embraced and renewed by his daughter Paola Corradi and her husband Ippolito De Ferrari, who, during the 60’s, became the passionate creators and developers of Poderi Boscarelli.
Paola and Ippolito planted 24 acres of vineyard, built the first cellar, renovated the old barns and designed the production philosophy of Boscarelli’s Nobile, focusing mainly on meticulous vineyard work and on the terroir’s different expressions conveyed through the Sangiovese grape.
In the mid 80’s the property grows to 30 acres, with the purchase of neighbouring vineyards, in an exceptional position and with outstanding soil features: the Nocio vineyard. The original vision of promoting quality above all, drives the owners to begin an ambitious and complex project that starts in 1987. After an experimental phase, of careful selection of the best clones of Sangiovese from the older vines and by doubling the vineyard’s density, the project leads to the production in 2001 of a Nobile with 100% Sangiovese from one single vineyard: Boscarelli’s Il Nocio.
Paola and Ippolito’s sons, Luca and Nicolò in these days already work at the winery, Luca started in 1985 and Nicolò in 1995. Today it’s the third generation who personally conducts the viticulture and the winemaking, continuously selecting and grafting Sangiovese, so that the Nobile will continue to express the scents and the special features of its terroir.
The De Ferrari family believes that the Alliance project is a direct consequential effect of many years of work: sharing passion, experience and efforts with other producers that are on their same path, that want to globally promote Montepulciano’s terroir, it’s peculiar features, through the purity of Sangiovese.