2022 Salcheto Vino Nobile di Montepulciano 750 ml

Salcheto is one of the names to know in Montepulciano. “Readers who haven’t yet discovered Salcheto are missing out on some of the most delicious wines being made in Tuscany today,” raved Vinous’s Antonio Galloni—and the estate has spent every vintage since living up to it.

The Vino Nobile marries plush modernism and classic Sangiovese vibrancy. Built from 100% Prugnolo Gentile, the local clone of Sangiovese, it carries the regal structure of Tuscany’s most coveted reds in a form made for the dinner table—a natural match for everything from weeknight pizza to grilled Wagyu burgers or wild mushroom ravioli.

Vino Nobile has been one of Europe’s most sought-after wines for centuries. In 1549, Pope Paul III proclaimed it “vino perfectissimo”; in 1685, the poet Francesco Redi crowned it “the king of all wines”; and Thomas Jefferson later counted himself a fan. The wines lost a step late in the 20th century, but a wave of ambitious producers has restored Vino Nobile to its former standing—and Salcheto’s Michele Manelli has been one of the movement’s driving forces.

Manelli took the reins of a sleepy Montepulciano farm in 1997 and rebuilt it from the ground up. Salcheto is now a model of environmental efficiency: organically and biodynamically farmed, hand-harvested, and run entirely off the grid from a gravity-flow cellar powered by sun, earth, and biomass. It was the first winery in the world to certify the carbon footprint of a bottle, earned Gambero Rosso’s Sustainable Winery of the Year in 2014, and became one of just two dozen estates worldwide to receive the Robert Parker Green Emblem.

The estate’s vineyards sit among the highest in the region, nearly 1,500 feet up, warmed by the Tuscan sun by day and cooled by brisk breezes at night. Volcanic tufa soils give the Prugnolo Gentile a happy home—plenty of nutrients, steady moisture—while the elevation preserves the bright acidity that lets great Sangiovese age with grace.

In the glass, expect the classic Sangiovese signature: dried and fresh red cherry, red and black plum, and a lift of wild herbs, rocky earth, and citrus peel, all carried on silky tannins and a long, savory finish.

Is it “vino perfectissimo”? A glass with good friends and a great meal makes a persuasive case.