2012 Monteverro Toscana IGT 750 ml

Michel Rolland’s Super Tuscan Triumph

It came as no surprise when I discovered that this 2012 Monteverro Toscana, the best new wine that I tasted this month, was made under the guidance of Michel Rolland. He has an incredible talent for coaxing gorgeous flavors and svelte textures from the outstanding sites that he chooses to work with. The World of Fine Wine nails it in their article titled “Monteverro, A Story of Wine and Passion” saying, “The right soil, the perfect work team, a great passion, a good deal of commitment and tenacity, and an ‘enlightened’ estate make Monteverro a reality of excellence.” This 2012 Monteverro, their flagship "Grand Vin" — a blend primarily of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc with a splash of Merlot and Petit Verdot — is a masterpiece.

We taste roughly 300 wines per month in our weekly judging panel, and of all of them, this is the wine that stood out for me in January. We scored it 95 points, and my tasting note described it as having a classical nose of cassis, blackberry, black plum, warm bricks, dried mediterranean herbs, exotic spices, with beautifully managed French oak dark chocolate and cloves. Sophisticated palate with good density, fresh acidity, refined tannins. Very good length and a svelte finish. It drinks beautifully now at six years old, but it will continue to improve through 2027 and hold through to 2032.  

The Monteverro estate was established by Georg Weber with the express desire to produce one of the worlds greatest wines. The estate boasts 74 prime acres of planted vines in southern Tuscany, near the coast at the foot of the picturesque village of Capalbio. Sharing similar soils and climate to Bolgheri, the vineyard is meticulously planted, with the help of the world's foremost soil experts Lydia and Claude Bourguignon. Each plot is fastidiously managed separately, and selectively hand-harvested.  

The philosophy in the winery follows that in the vineyard — something to be expected when consultant winemakers are Michel Rolland and Napa superstar winemaker Jean Hoefliger. As The World of Fine Wine notes, “It is the scrupulous care taken at every stage of the winemaking process, with the patient care of the vines, the rigorous selection during the harvest, and expert evaluation of each terroir-specific lot at the time of tasting and blending,” that results in a wine of such majesty and refinement. The 2012 Monteverro is a blend of 35% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Cabernet Franc, 25% Merlot and 5% Petit Verdot. The grapes are hand-pressed by vertical basket presses, then transferred by gravity-flow to micro fermentation individual 50-hectolitre tanks where natural yeasts ferment the wine dry. It is then matured for 24 months in the finest French oak barriques of which 70 percent are new.

The 2012 Monteverro is an exciting addition to the great wines of Tuscany and indeed the world.  The critics certainly agree. In her 94-point review, Monica Larner, the Italian wine reviewer for Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate called it “a gorgeous wine that excels on many fronts including extraction, intensity and richness.” In the words of Georg Weber, “We regard our wine as a total work of art — one sees it, smells it and tastes it. And of this, each and every one of us is proud.”