THE CLASSIC MONTAUTO SEALING METHOD

At Tenuta Montauto, Sangiovese has a very special production identity.
Moreover, thanks to the soil dotted with quartz and the exposure to the sea air from Capalbio, the estate identifies its identity in white grapes and, among red grapes, in fine and slender expressions such as that promised by Pinot Noir. It is for this reason that Sangiovese, in Tenuta Montauto's interpretation, is lightened and rarefied, it is sublimated, in this case, through the use of a method called, among insiders, Metodo Classico.
Specifically, it is Metodo Classico brut from the 2016 vintage harvest, and it stays on the lees 24 months before disgorging.
On the nose there is already a sensation of fruit, crisp and juicy like grapefruit, a particular citrus fruit, intense and very fresh, like the bite of a kumquat, which is in fact innervated with acidity and freshness. On the palate, it is tactile, even spicy in its notes of white pepper punctuated by blond spices, lactic sensations, as well as some vinyl hints, of old lipsticks and powders.

A WINE FOR THE WHOLE MEAL (PAIRING)

Tenuta Montauto's Sangiovese Metodo Classico, like all sparkling wines, has refreshing, invigorating and cleansing virtues. As such, and by virtue of its delicacy, it is an extremely versatile companion that can easily accompany the meal from aperitif to after dinner. In particular, it will be excellent with the peppery cured meats of the Maremma, with capocollo, for example, with which it will rhyme in spiciness, both aromatic and palate. It is interesting with soppressata, as its acid balance and bubbles will cleanse the mouth of fat. Due to the presence of orange peel in the mixture, it will be very happy in combo with seasoned Pitigliano mazzafegato. Among the first courses, not only traditional ones, such as pennette alla buttera, but also delicate fish-based guazzetti, cacciucco in the forefront. The dosage, low but nonetheless present, returns a wine that knows how to be soft when necessary, which is why we do not disdain it even with more elaborate main courses.

FOCUS

To speak of sparkling wines made with the Classical Method is to speak of some of the finest wines in the world. Their processing, often still poorly mechanised, is very slow, requiring years of production and, as mentioned, a very elaborate and peculiar technique.
First of all, we will start by saying that there are two types of fermentation: there is the Classical method, which draws its production technique from Champagne, and the Martinotti method, otherwise known as Charmat, which is the one used for Prosecco, and this is not our case. Having said that, it is worth remembering that almost all of the most popular sparkling wines on the market, such as Asti and Prosecco, are made precisely with the Martinotti method, which unlike the Classical method, where everything takes place in the bottle, uses autoclaves instead.
Spumante, however, can generally be defined as a process to obtain a product defined as sparkling since it is characterised by the presence of carbon dioxide inside the bottle such that it creates a pressure of more than 3 atmospheres. Wines with a pressure between 1 and 2.5 atmospheres, on the other hand, are defined as sparkling.

PROCESS DESCRIPTION

The process of producing sparkling wines using the Classical Method is divided into several stages, each one different from the other. The first phase, which certainly concerns Champagne the most because it involves the use of reserve wines, is what is known as the elaboration of the cuvée, i.e. the selection and blending of the wines to be used for the production of the sparkling wine: these are mostly white wines, different not only in terms of soil types but also in terms of vintages, blended together according to varying balances and proportions: the so-called bases.

The second phase is called tirage: a mixture called liqueur de tirage made of wine, sugars and yeasts is added to the base wine before bottling in special bottles called champagnotte and equipped with a special crown cork that has the virtue of resisting the pressure that develops inside the bottle during this phase, from which the bottles are stacked horizontally in cool, dark cellars. The bottles, during this period, are stacked horizontally, sur lattes in jargon: on their lees. This is when frothing takes place, a process that lasts at least 3 months in which the yeasts transform the sugars into alcohol and carbon dioxide, which cannot be dissolved in the air and will be absorbed by the wine and will be responsible for the perlage of the sparkling wine. Inside the bottles, at this stage, a pressure that can exceed 6-7 atmospheres is reached. Refinement (generally meaning bottle ageing and barrel ageing) lasts from a minimum of one year up to 5 years and even longer for those sparkling wines with high structural characteristics. Once this phase is complete, we move on to the pouring, otherwise known as remuage, which consists of inserting the necks of the bottles into the holes on special stands called pupitres. The bottles will be turned with the end of the neck pointing downwards, they will be periodically shaken, turned a fraction of a turn (1/4 1/8 etc.), while their inclination is increased. This phase lasts 4-6 weeks and is aimed at concentrating on the cork the deposits and sediments created during ageing. This phase can also be carried out using special machines, called gyropalettes, with which excellent results can be obtained by reducing execution time and labour. At the end of the remuage phase, then, the bottles will be upside down, and they will be turned so that the cork, fitted with a counter stopper called a bidule, can contain the residue inside the bottle, i.e. the lees that have been generated inside during the frothing phase. The last stage involves disgorgement, or dégorgement, and can be carried out manually, à la volée, or à la glace, by immersing the neck of the bottle in a freezing solution. In this way, only the part where the concentrated sediment is found is frozen, and by cooling the wine contained in the bottle, there is less dispersion of the product when it is uncorked. The bottles, at this point, are supplemented of the part that has been lost with sparkling wine from previous vintages and sugar syrup called liqueur d'expédition. Depending on the dosage of the liqueur d'expédition, there will be different types of sparkling wine, brut, extra-brut but also pas dosé and so on. After filling, the bottle is corked with the mushroom cork and the protective cage is inserted around the cork. At this point, the bottles undergo a slight shaking, known as poignettage, which is useful for evenly distributing the added liqueur. The bottles are then washed and labelled, habillage. Finally, the bottles are returned to the cellar, so that the traumas of the process are overcome and the wine stabilises. This stay in the cellar can last from a few days to many months, in some cases even years.

TYPES OF SPARKLING WINE AND CHAMPAGNE

Blanc de blancs: literally, 'white from white', is a white Champagne made only from white grapes, such as chardonnay and, to a much lesser extent, Pinot blanc.

Blanc de noirs: unlike the former, it designates a white Champagne made from black grapes such as Pinot noir and Meunier in Champagne.

Millesimato: while most Champagnes and sparkling wines are s.a, or sans anneé, a millesimato is a sparkling wine made from the grapes of a single vintage, otherwise known as vintage, shown on the label.

Rosé: is a sparkling wine obtained by vinifying in red one of the wines used in the composition of the cuvée.

Pas Année or Sans Année: is a Champagne obtained by blending wines from different vintages.