Tuscany's lesser-known wine region with a stylish new stay

Times

06-06-2025

Carving up the Montepulciano countryside in a Fiat Punto — unofficial vehicle of Tuscany — the fields are so resoundingly green that I have to squint to protect my eyes from the sting. Around every bend is an enchanting panorama, and I find myself snapping photos of the same composition many times over: an elegant ruin on an olive grove; a cupola-topped neoclassical manor; a vineyard with rows so meticulous, they seem groomed by a wide-tooth comb. The ancient landscape never gets old — it's what has kept discerning travellers coming here since the Grand Tour.
I've come to this bijou region south of Siena in part to stay at the new vineyard resort Poggio alla Sala, a regal ochre-coloured villa built in the 1800s on a gentle rise near the Umbrian border, overlooking a valley once occupied by Romans. It has been refurbished, brightened and stuffed with lush greenery that houseplant-shames me at every turn. An enfilade of winter garden, lounge and vaulted dining room exhibits intricate ceiling frescoes, restored to their original splendour with Sistine Chapel-calibre precision. From the foyer you can see straight through the rear doors, flung open to the old winery. Rooms upstairs and in the former orangery and stables have been fitted with deep mosaic-tile baths and massive pivoting windows that take in the dramatic vineyard views.
Guests have been checking in to Poggio alla Sala lately for its three pools, whose edges are lined with cypress trees and sumptuous loungers to offset the silk caftans and Orlebar Brown trunks. And of course it has all of Tuscany at its feet: the rollercoaster roads of the Val d'Orcia run right outside, swinging past the 100-year-old gardens of La Foce, which fan out from a flaxen-yellow manor (from £8; lafoce.com). And if you carry on past Montepulciano proper, you can taste Tuscany's famous Chianina beef at La Toraia in view — for better or worse — of the farm's cattle (mains from £12; tenutalafratta.it).
But even during colder months the resort will draw visitors with its historic wine cellar, open for free tastings twice a week. The Montepulciano wines may not be as popular worldwide as chianti and Brunello di Montalcino, the region's other deep, fruity, head-buzzing reds, but they are as dear to Tuscan farmers as the small-batch extra virgin 'green gold' oil that never seems to taste as good outside this ancient, mineral-rich terroir, or terreno. Drinking these wines is close to a religion around here — although for me, a lifetime fan, it's something far more carnal. As a devotee of reds, I've always gravitated toward their rich, tannic sharpness when I can afford it. I may have dabbled in whites in my youth, but once I went red, I never looked back.
Until recently, the finest Montepulcianos were called thevino nobiles and were produced with the native prugnolo gentile grape. Nobiles were the reserve of clerics and kings going back to the first fermentations in the 14th century, and served as currency when dealing with the aristocrats of Florence. Today's winemakers, however, are hard at work preparing for a new chapter in vino nobile history, which brings me to the second reason I've come for a visit.
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This year, in an effort to showcase the nuanced terroir, the consortium of vintners introduced a new classification of top-of-the-line nobiles called pieve. They remapped the region according to 12 medieval pievi, or parishes, bordered by ancient roads and rivers, and invited winemakers within each to make small batches tied exclusively to their specific soil, aspect, elevation and weather, using no less than 85 per cent of prugnolo gentile (the threshold for a regular nobile is 75 per cent).
The first bottles finally matured this winter, meaning wine-lovers like me can start tasting Montepulciano in literally a dozen new ways — including at Poggio alla Sala, which will carry the new Pieve Sant'Albino from the autumn.
As the vintner Marco Castignani tells me: 'This is a renaissance of the wine. For the first time we can finally map the taste profile of our different terroir.' And because the batch is relatively small, it won't be exported. 'You will have to enjoy it here, at our special tastings for customers.'
Castignani's wine estate, Fattoria del Cerro, unfurls along one of the most breathtaking roads in the region: an undulating single lane marked out by the Etruscans about five miles east of Montepulciano town. With labrador-puppy energy, he takes me around the Cerro vineyards in his Fiat, from the hilltop villa hotel, obscured by stone pines, across 600 hectares bordered by olive groves and peach trees. Once upon a time the land was covered with forest, then in about 1100 the noble families here donated much of the woodland to the church. Gradually farmers moved in and now Cerro's steely new winery produces more than a million bottles of Montepulciano reds annually. In August Castignani will debut 3,000 bottles of Pieve Sant'Ilario to showcase the silty, calcium-rich soil (cellar visit and tasting from £50; tenutedelcerro.it). Other wineries — about half a dozen — are also releasing their pieves this summer, but during my visit in spring, bottles are scarce.
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The new designation is a back-to-basics move for a product inextricably tied to church, religion and the earth. 'The first mention of wine here was in an ancient story from 1377,' Castignani says. 'It was written that a person from one pieve sent a litre of wine each month to another pieve. So the pieve is tied to our original winemaking story.' And while the French are known to share a bottle of wine at dinner with a school-age child, here in Montepulciano the idea is absurd: 'In school? Ten years old? This is too late! You will put the wine to their lips at the baptism.'
To truly appreciate the micro-differences in the pieve it helps to be a wine aficionado, but Cerro is preparing for a revolution anyway, adding a contemporary guesthouse and renovating dozens of historic winemakers' cottages. The idea is that visitors can use the new pieve map as a guide through Montepulciano and spend the night near the source of their favourite wines.
Adapting bygone infrastructure is essential in this dearly protected yet heavily visited destination to draw people away from the busy hilltop town of Montepulciano proper and into the old-world surroundings. The town is a prize attraction for the region, a crescendo of honeyed stucco with a cobbled square at its pinnacle designed by the Medicis' architect. When I climb up on a March afternoon after my visit to Cerro, the steep lanes are almost eerily quiet. I turn back every few metres to enjoy views to the crenellated clock tower and over the city gates to the bulbous Madonna di San Biagio church without having to will away a sea of tourists. But I know how crowds and heat can kill the vibe in August. By the time I reach Talosa, a 16th-century winery built on an Etruscan foundation between two historic palaces, I feel I've earned a glass of Nobile di Montepulciano Riserva in the cellar. I drink it with a plate of bruschetta doused with virgin olive oil from Talosa's groves and inhale the thick, ripe air like one might the pheromones of a lover (tour and tasting from £25; talosa.it). In a stroke of good timing, I see only one couple my entire visit.
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By my last afternoon in the area, I've nearly lost hope that a bottle of the elusive pieve will materialise this early in the year. Driving up a cliffside road towards lunch in the old frontier town of Torrita di Siena, I turn off to try my luck at Vecchia Cantina di Montepulciano, a co-operative winery with a sweeping new shop (vecchiacantinashop.com) — and I don't get a definitive no. While I explore the barrels in the cellar and the vino nobiles on the shelves, a phone call is made and a breathless manager called Tiziana Mazzetti runs in with a bottle of Pieve Cervognano by Redi, sourced from an 18-year-old vineyard in the eastern Cervognano region, about three miles east of where we are. It'll be the first pieve on the market in a few weeks' time.
At a sunny table by the full-height windows, Mazzetti pours me a taster, then pours more when I attack it like a thirsty poodle. I'm being completely honest when I say how easy it is on the tongue; how soft and smooth it feels, leaving behind a fruity tingle. Compared with the sharper nobile Mazzetti uncorks for contrast, it's like rich red velvet. 'Some wines, like this, are elegant and soft,' she says, passing me a slice of pecorino from Pienza, the town down the road. 'Others have a 'big shoulder' — more presence. You'll see. It's not only about age. It's about the differences between soil and history.'
I'm surprised my untrained palate is able to detect the subtle distinctions — this is wine-tasting at a granular level. But it does, which is why I believe wine-lovers might do well to put down the chianti and rediscover this well-trod region in a biblical sense.
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'Vino nobile didn't have much identity,' Mazzetti says. 'But in our little terroir we have 12 types of soil; 12 histories. What was our weakness is now our strength.'Ellen Himelfarb was a guest of Poggio alla Sala, which has room-only doubles from £303 (precisehotels.com), and of Valdichiana Living, which offers six-hour winery tours around Montepulciano from £200pp (valdichianaliving.it). Fly to Florence
This dramatic turreted hilltop castle towers over Monferrato's Po Valley and has views towards the Alps in northwest Italy. The 260-hectare estate dates from the 8th century and spans two DOCs, Gabiano and Rubino di Cantavenna. Suites are dotted throughout the grounds and all have castle views and classic decor, with cream plastered walls, exposed ceiling beams, oak shutters and modern four-posters. There's a pool and private lake for fishing, bikes to borrow and cooking classes, while guests can sample homegrown wines in the tasting room overlooking the vineyards. The restaurant's set menus feature fruit and vegetables grown in the castle's gardens.Details Room-only doubles from £151 (castellodigabiano.com). Fly to Turin
Perched on a plateau 210m above sea level and surrounded by 170 hectares of vineyards, olive trees and dry-stone walls, Masseria Amastuola is a low-rise whitewashed farmhouse with 18 rooms near Italy's south coast. All are in earthy neutral shades with antique furniture but a modern, streamlined look. There's also a restaurant serving typical Puglian dishes, a barrel room and two tasting rooms to try the estate's own organic wines, including primitivo and negroamaro. Guests can join yoga classes, borrow bikes or explore the local area, with the Unesco-listed city of Matera and the coastal town of Polignano a Mare both about an hour's drive away.Details B&B doubles from £142 (amastuola.it). Fly to Bari
There's fizz aplenty at this hotel in the Prosecco region, an hour's drive north of Venice. The grand neoclassical building was built in the 18th century as the summer home for a noble family, then was later used as headquarters by German armed forces in the Second World War. The restored boutique hotel has since hosted such stars as Sophia Loren and has 39 individually designed rooms overlooking parkland, all with exposed beams, glossy wooden floors and contemporary styling. There's an outdoor swimming pool, spa, ebikes and a restaurant. The village marks the start of La Strada del Prosecco, a wine route that traces the sparkling wine's history via wineries for tastings.Details Room-onlydoubles from £121 (hotelvillasoligo.it). Fly to Treviso