THE CHERRY OF TENUTA MONTAUTO

Like all vines, Ciliegiolo is an interpreter of its terroir; an area particularly suited, this one, as it is exposed to sea breezes with sudden temperature changes on a soil rich in skeleton and minerals. Here, Ciliegiolo has been grown for about 15 years on spurred cordon espalier, with plantings of about 3300 vines per hectare. Harvested by hand at the beginning of September, after careful selection of the grapes, they undergo a soft pressing. Fermentation in stainless steel vats at a temperature of 28°C, maceration for about 15 days and ageing for one 30% in tonneaux and the remainder in stainless steel for about 10 months yield a wine that in the 2017 vintage smells of ripe strawberries, myrtle, and Mediterranean scrub.

MAREMMA PAIRINGS

Tenuta Montauto's Ciliegiolo is a decidedly versatile wine, it has both delicacy and authority, two souls that make it very easy with certain Tuscan meat preparations: from the succulent meatiness of Chianina fillet to the delicacy of white poultry meat, such as free-range chicken, perhaps cooked on the grill. That said, Ciliegiolo also goes very well with certain shellfish in tasty preparations such as Cacciucco or with stewed mussels. In keeping with the Maremma's love for snails, then, it must be emphasised that Tenuta Montauto's Ciliegiolo goes hand in hand with this particular dish, with which it rhymes in terms of minerality and incisiveness of flavour.

FOCUS

Origin

Ciliegiolo is a grape variety belonging to central Italy: it is cultivated in Liguria, Tuscany, Marche, Abruzzo and Lazio. Its area of origin, however, is Tuscany, where this vine may have spread by arriving from Spain in the late 1800s. Professor Giulio Racah maintains that it may have been brought to the region by pilgrims returning from the Sanctuary of Santiago de Compostela and, with him, this theory has been shared by other scholars. However, no research has ascertained similarities between Cilegiolo and Spanish vines, while, in this particular regard, analyses carried out on its DNA have shown that the origin of Ciliegiolo is to be sought in some native Italian varieties, in particular as the result of crosses with certain Campanian species, highlighting among other things that Ciliegiolo is the origin of the much more famous Sangiovese. Other scholars, however, cite it in comparison with Montepulciano, Canaiolo and, once again, with Sangiovese, of which it would be, as mentioned, a parent.

Morphology and vigour

Morphologically, the vine presents itself with large, compact and elongated bunches in a pyramid shape, often winged; it has medium-large, pentagonal, trilobed or pentalobed leaves. The berries are rather large, spherical, with a nice, medium-thick pruinose skin and a black colour with violet highlights. Their flesh is juicy, with a simple but very pleasant flavour.

In terms of production, it is a vigorous plant that allows high and constant harvests and can adapt to any situation. However, it must be said that Ciliegiolo thrives preferably on moderately fertile hilly soils and warm, dry climates, which guarantee a better vegetative and productive balance. The reduced basal fertility, however, suggests that short pruning should be avoided and, preferably, low impact pruning as the basal buds are, it was said, not very fertile.
Ciliegiolo is endowed with good vigour and ripens early. In order to achieve good, consistent yields, it must be planted on low-humid hillsides in dry, hot climates. However, it also has the ability to ripen at high altitudes, where it is often much appreciated.

Wine

Ciliegiolo takes its name from the colour and characteristic aroma of the wine made from it, which is supposedly reminiscent of cherries. And although it is a very expressive vine capable of producing wines of substance and character, thanks also to its widespread use in the production of 'vino novello', it has met with very little success in recent years, so much so that today its cultivation area has fallen below 5,000 hectares. Thus, over time, it has been credited, in the imagination of many producers, with the role of a secondary variety, especially to Sangiovese, with which it was used in blends and always in a minority percentage. At Tenuta Montauto, after an empirical journey made up of trials both in the vineyard and in the cellar, we have identified and thus traced the path to vinify it in purity. Our Ciliegiolo, in particular, has proved to be a very ductile vine, capable of producing fresh, fragrant wines. By increasing the period of maceration on the skins and allowing a percentage of the wine to remain in barriques, we now obtain a jovial nectar, as clear as it is complex in its hints of red fruit, citrus fruits, spices and officinal herbs, and as light-hearted and easy to drink.

For this reason, we are witnessing in recent years a timid revival of the grape variety which, thanks to the rise of indigenous grape varieties and minority winemaking, is receiving more interest than in the past, so much so that more and more producers are trying their hand at it, finally also in purity. In these rare cases, the wine has a beautiful ruby colour with brilliant violet veins, good alcohol content, complex and fine aromas and a structured, full-bodied palate. Generally, these are wines to be drunk young thanks to their low acidity, which makes them soft on the palate, but they are also able to age if the producers so request. The wine then becomes intense and complex, and the cherry notes develop into hints of undergrowth, touches of plums and morello cherries and jammy wild berries.

The Territory

In Italy, Ciliegiolo is referred to by a number of locutions from past legacies or beliefs, which have given it names such as Aleaticone di Spagna, Ciliegiolo di Spagna, but also Reno, Santa Maria nero and Canaiolo romano.
Ciliegiolo is vinified as a single variety in the DOC Maremma Toscana Ciliegiolo, Golfo del Tigullio Ciliegiolo, Val di Cornia Ciliegiolo, Rosso Orvietano Ciliegiolo, Controguerra Ciliegiolo.
That said, Ciliegiolo can also be vinified in white or with light maceration to produce rosé wines with freshness and light fruity aromas. This fruity characteristic has also led it to be used for Chianti DOC wines.