A PORTRAIT OF THE WINERY

The Montemelino cantina is located on the hill of the same name not far from the Castle of Montegualandro along the northern stretches of Lake Trasimeno and is a perfect continuity of the farming estate it is a part of, one that until the late 1960s was cultivated by sharecroppers. It has a fascinating history: once the property of Polish countess Alix Winser, who married into the Borgia Mandolini family, it then passed to Margret Etten Cantarelli who, under the guidance of Prof. Corrado Cantarelli, a celebrated enologist who was then head of the Agriculture Department of the University of Perugia, developed the production of local wines for their quality. The estate has over thirty hectares where vineyards and olive groves alternate with woodlands as they gaze down at the lake below. Tuoro, the lakeside village famous for the battle that pitted Hannibal and his elephants against the Romans, is nearby, as is the border with Tuscany and the many delightful art cities that dot this splendid natural landscape.

THE VINEYARD AND TERROIR

The eight hectares of vineyard faces east and sits at an altitude of 350 metres on a hillside facing the lake. The ground here is made of clay and gravel, is rich in organic substances, thanks also to the grass between the rows of vines. The climate here is blessed with the mitigating effect of the lake, keeping clouds away and rainfall to a minimum.

THE GRAPE VARIETIES GROWN

They grow the grapes traditionally cultivated in this area to make red wines: sangiovese, gamay, canaiolo and ciliegiolo. The whites are represented by trebbiano toscano and grechetto. The other varietals they cultivate are: pinot nero, cabernet sauvignon and merlot.

WINES

Their DOC COlli Del TrasimenO mOnTemelinO rOssO is a wine full of character and candour, a fine representative of its area and the austerity of sangiovese grapes – with a little bit of help from such other classics as canaiolo and ciliegiolo. It is fermented in large concrete wine vats and then left to age anywhere from six to twelve months in Slavonia oak barrels and in 20-hectoliter Allier barrels before being bottled. Their mOnTemelinO bianCO is a traditional wine made with equal amounts of trebbiano toscano and grechetto, vinified and then aged in steel before aging further in the bottle.