One of the oldest wineries in the Montepulciano denomination producing Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, Tenuta di Gracciano della Seta has been producing high quality, traditional wines in the historical cru of Montepulciano for centuries. Belonging to the Della Seta Ferrari Corbelli family since the mid 1900’s, the third generation made up of Marco, Vannozza, and Galdina is now at the helm. The family has always produced the highest quality level of wine from Montepulciano, though for most of its history it was for family consumption and a handful of key customers. Giorgio, the father of Marco, Vannozza, and Galdina, decided to invest in the winery for commercial purposes, shrinking the property from 400 hectares of mixed agriculture to just 70 hectares of the highest quality vineyards. The vision of the family has remained fixed on producing wines of elegance that authentically communicate the beauty and tradition of the territory of Montepulciano. Our team recently met with Marco to taste the wines and learn more about the history of his family’s business.

The vineyards are located upon loamy and clayey soil on the Gracciano hills. The grape varieties are the classical ones of Vino Nobile: Prugnolo Gentile (a clone of Sangiovese) and a small quantity of Canaiolo, Mammolo and Merlot. Through a drastic reduction of their yields (now only 35-40 hl/ ha), they have continued to improve quality each year. Over the last years the estate has changed all the vessels for wine ageing by utilizing new French and Slovenian oak casks and French tonneaux. Marco explained that the exclusive use of large format barrel is not only traditional to the region but assures that the wine can reflect its true character both varietally and geographically.

The winery is certified organic since 2018, something that Marco and feels is compulsory. This belief was passed down from his father’s side of the family who were pioneers in large scale biodynamic farming on their rice farm near Milan in the 1970s. Marco sits on the Demeter Board for biodynamic agriculture in the EU.

Gracciano is one of the few producers in Montepulciano to keep the traditional label of the consortium. Now, since many have abandoned this design, it is unique to them and they think it reflects what they do and the product they make: traditional, elegant, clean.

Looking forward…

Next year, Gracciano della Seta will release a new wine: Vino Nobile Pieve. A new designation created by the consortium to highlight the specificities of 12 different sub-areas within Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. The first vintage will be 2020.

Great press on 2021 Vino Nobile di Montepulciano from Decanter magazine (via @decanter on instagram).