Fico Montanino Bulgarelli Rosso IGT Toscana 2019

Maria Sole’s farm is called Ficomontanino (roughly, “Little Fig Mountain”). It is a property her grandfather acquired in the 1960s as a place to produce olive oil and breed horses. Situated in the far southeast of the region near the town of Chiusi, Ficomontanino is administratively part of Tuscany, but geographically and spiritually it speaks to both Umbria and Lazio,  whose borders are mere kilometers away.

“Bulgarelli” — named after Maria’s grandfather’s prized stallion — is pure Sangiovese from 20 to 30 year-old vines planted in the sandy clay soils of the farm’s main three parcels: Ficomontano, Melogranino, and Campo Cavalli.

Fermented naturally in cement, and aged six months in non-thermoregulated stainless steel, Bulgarelli is bottled without fining or filtration, and with a bare minimum of added sulfur. This distinctive wine pulls in multiple directions; it is both fresh and deep, both spicy and earthy, and its dark red fruits soar high, unfettered by cellar manipulations. The ever-versatile Sangiovese finds a new and lovely register here.