Boscarelli Il Nocio Vino Nobile di Montepulciano 2018 2021

Boscarelli Il Nocio 2021, the imprint of Montepulciano

There is, in Il Nocio, a wine that speaks first of a specific place: a plot of Sangiovese, carefully worked on the heights of Montepulciano. I recommend it for its fidelity to terroir and for its oak aging, which accompanies the fruit without erasing the identity of the grape. The announced profile leans toward spice, with a medium-bodied structure.

A family plot at the heart of Vino Nobile

This Vino Nobile di Montepulciano DOCG comes from Vigna del Nocio, a four-hectare plot located in Cervognano di Montepulciano. The Sangiovese vines were planted there in 1988, on soils mixing clay and sand, between 280 and 350 meters of altitude. The harvest is manual and carried out at the moment deemed optimal, with a selection of the grapes. The work in the vineyard aims to be respectful, with the goal of preserving the characteristics of the site.

The history of Boscarelli begins with Egidio Corradi, who left finance in 1962 to devote himself to producing a wine capable of expressing his native land. He then acquired two small, partly abandoned properties. Today, his grandsons Luca and Nicolò De Ferrari continue this family adventure, keeping the spirit of the project while adapting it to their era. After a gently conducted fermentation, the wine is aged for 18 months in oak casks; the vintage description also mentions 18 barriques of Slavonian oak.

For the 2021, the available information does not detail a precise palette of aromas nor the color beyond its category of red wine: I therefore prefer not to promise you fruit or floral notes that are not documented. The communicated profile nevertheless places it fairly close to the spicy side, at 7 out of 9, with a moderate presence of wood, rated 5 out of 9, and a body of 6 out of 9. These benchmarks outline a structured red that is not described as massive, in which cask aging plays a noticeable role. The 2021 vintage has also received a score of 97/100 from James Suckling.

At the table, with robust meats

I would serve Il Nocio with red meat or game, pairings suggested for this wine and consistent with its spicy profile and assertive body. It is a bottle to open at a meal where the dish can take its time, without seeking to mask the wine with overly powerful flavors. Let it rest for a few moments in the glass, then take the time to see how the wood and the Sangiovese respond to each other: a simple way to taste, through a plot and a family story, the Vino Nobile of Montepulciano.