~ An iconic image of the Val d’Orcia, Tuscany ~
Tenuta Sette Ponti lies on historic land in the heart of the Chianti zone at the end of the Via del Monte; known locally as the Via di Sette Ponti. The estate is aptly named for the seven medieval bridges that cross the Arno River on the road from Arezzo to Florence. Owner and Entrepreneur Antonio Moretti has transformed this 750-acre estate into a multifaceted farm that has become one of Tuscany’s most innovative, quality-driven producers.
This determination is manifested in Antonio’s actions which he explained to me: “Giovanni, you cannot live only of wine”. He realizes that Italian culture cannot be restricted simply to the harvest of fruit; but also grains, cheeses and produce that must be served alongside the wine. As a result, he strives to produce wines of elegance that marry well at the table. Crognolo succeeds.
~ Vineyards on the Sette Ponti Estate used for Crognolo ~
Crognolo is the estate’s flagship Sangiovese. When first produced in 1998, the wine was a blend of Sangiovese and Merlot but that has been changed as of 2016 and the wine is now 100% Sangiovese. Moretti takes care in producing Crognolo. When the grapes for Crognolo arrive at the winery, they are hand sorted and de-stemmed and the skins are broken rather than crushed. Fermentation takes place in a combination of temperature-controlled and lined open-top tanks, with manual punching down of the cap for about 25-days.
The 2017 Sette Ponti Crognolo is a stylish Sangiovese that maintains its freshness very well despite the difficulties of the vintage. 2017 started with an earlier than normal bud-break which set the stage for frost damage when temperatures plummeted in late April. As Spring turned to Summer, scorching temperatures exceeding 100 degrees baked vineyards. It was not easy to produce fresh, balanced wines that year, but Sette Ponti did just that.
Deep garnet in color, the wine exudes aromas of crushed black cherry, cured meat, fresh lavender and violets. Persistent on the palate, the wine is medium to full bodied with round, ample cherry fruit. This is polished Sangiovese. Cedar, toasted vanilla, tobacco and leather accent the ripe fruit which is juicy and lively. Very nice effort, albeit in a more modern style. Nothing rustic about this wine. 93 points. Find this wine.
~ Vineyards on the Sette Ponti Estate used for Crognolo ~
For more data points on Crognolo see the following:
Salute!
John,
I have the 2016. Looking forward to trying it.
Joe, I would suspect that to be better. This wine is always well made, but it is very polished and round. To me, it doesn’t show any rusticity and no demonstrable sense of place. Taste and see. Tell me what you think!
Just purchased this wine and was delighted to read your review of it! It’s nice to read the background on the harvest conditions and the vineyard. The liquor store I purchased it from also incorrectly had it as a Sangiovese/Merlot mix so it was nice to have that correction here.
Hi Bri,
I never trust shelf talkers in wine shops. Notorious are cards from a previous vintage where the rating may be higher. Download the Wine Searcher App to your phone if you don’t already have it. It’s a decent resource for things like that. And use the Search Feature on this website. It is pretty robust and over 10 years of articles, you will find a lot of information. Thanks for commenting and cheers! John