Description
Fontodi has belonged to the Manetti family since 1968. The family has been associated for centuries with another activity typical of the Chianti region, the production of its famous “terrecotte” tiles. And it is in the name of this strong link with the territory and a great passion for quality that the estate has moved successfully towards an ever more attentive cultivation of the vineyards and a more profound knowledge of the potential of Sangiovese in the zone of Panzano.
Fontodi is a certified organic estate which extends over 130 hectares of which about 70 are planted with vines. The type of agriculture practised is inspired by the principles of respect of nature and sustainability. Not only are no chemical products used but there is an effort to maximize the internal resources of the estate, thereby reducing the need for any external input. Respecting the environment means wines that are better, purer, and a truer expression of the grape and the territory.
Giovanni Manetti and Fontodi represent the pinnacle of quality that can be achieved in this part of Tuscany. That he has become a symbolic head of the region only brings more prestige and pedigree to an appellation that demands our highest respect and admiration.
Tasting Notes
This retrospective gave me the opportunity to taste the excellent 2015 vintage side by side with the highly anticipated 2016 vintage. These two years are famously in a tight race across Tuscany for supremacy. I’m ready to tip my hat at 2016. In comparison, the 2015 Flaccianello della Pieve is slightly broader in the shoulders and heavier in the gait. There is more meat on these bones, and the 2015 vintage presented vintners with near-perfect growing conditions in which one textbook part of the vegetative cycle transitioned directly to the next. The wine is dark, exuberant and profound, and the quality of the tannins is superb, fine and firm. One difference with the 2016 vintage is that the 2015 is a tad more accessible and ready. You can wait and cellar it for thirty years, or pop the cork sooner if you don’t have the patience to wait. [98 Points, Monica Larner – July 2019, robertparker.com]
