High in the hills of Radda, Montevertine makes some of the most sought-after Sangiovese in all of Tuscany, and pointedly refuses to call it Chianti. It is one of the great cult estates of Italian wine, and one of its quietest rebels. This is a full guide to Montevertine and the range we stock at House of Decant.

The rebellion began with Sergio Manetti, a steel manufacturer who bought Montevertine as a country retreat in the 1960s and started making wine almost by accident. When his wines turned out to be extraordinary, he fell foul of the Chianti rules, which at the time demanded a splash of white grapes in the blend. Manetti refused to compromise, walked away from the Chianti Classico consortium, and labelled his pure Sangiovese simply as Toscana. The wines have been legends ever since.

Sangiovese, and Nothing to Prove

Montevertine is a shrine to Sangiovese made without gimmicks: no Cabernet, no heavy new oak, no chasing of international taste. The wines are grown high and cool, fermented traditionally and aged in large old casks, so that the grape and the hillside speak without interruption. The flagship, Le Pergole Torte, was one of the first great single-vineyard, pure-Sangiovese wines in Italy, and it remains a benchmark.

The Range We Stock

We carry the two wines that are the perfect way into the estate. Pian del Ciampolo is the entry, a wine of real pedigree hiding under a humble Toscana label, all bright red cherry, violets and savoury freshness, and one of the smartest buys in Tuscany. The Montevertine Rosso is the step up, deeper and more structured, a serious Sangiovese with the estate's signature perfume and tension, and a long life ahead of it.

What It Tastes Like

This is Sangiovese at its most transparent and pure: red cherry and wild berry, dried herbs, violets and orange peel, with a savoury, almost saline earthiness and the grape's signature fresh, mouthwatering acidity. There is no makeup here, no heavy oak to hide behind, just the clear voice of a great hillside. The wines are beautiful young but built to age, gaining complexity and grace over a decade or more.

How to Drink It

Serve these wines at cool room temperature, in a large glass, and give the Rosso in particular a little air. They are made for the Tuscan table, and they flatter almost anything from it: pasta with a rich ragu, roast meats, grilled vegetables, aged pecorino. Pian del Ciampolo is a joy to drink young; the Rosso rewards a few years of patience.

Montevertine is one of Tuscany's cult names. For the wider region see our Italian wine regions guide, and for the great Tuscan houses, read our profile of Antinori.

Montevertine proves that the most compelling wines are often the ones with the least to prove. It walked away from the famous name on the label to protect the wine in the bottle, and in doing so became one of the most revered estates in Italy. The label still just says Toscana. The wine says everything else.