{"product_id":"montepeloso-lupo-toscano-rosso-tuscany-italy-2025","title":"Montepeloso \"Lupo\" Toscano Rosso, Tuscany, Italy 2025","description":"\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eI noticed the other day, while gazing down at our recycling bin, that this summer my wife and I have emptied more bottles of today's 2025 Montepeloso \"Lupo\" than just about any other wine. That realization didn't come as much of a surprise. This life-affirming, spirit-lifting red is built around a wonderfully unfashionable idea: that coastal Tuscan Sangiovese need not be dark, muscular, heavily extracted, or burdened with oak.. Instead, winemaker Fabio Chiarelotto has created something vivid, aromatic, and almost weightless—a translucent red that seems to carry the scents of the Tuscan coast directly into the glass. Wild hillside strawberries and herbs, sour cherry, citrus peel, wildflower petals, Mediterranean herbs, white pepper, and warm stone—this wine is an aromatic whirlwind. Served with a light chill, it is both intellectually distinctive and almost dangerously easy to drink: a pure, joyful expression of Sangiovese that values fragrance, movement, and refreshment above brute force.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eMontepeloso lies in the hills outside Suvereto, in the southern part of the province of Livorno, where the Tuscan landscape begins to turn decisively toward the Mediterranean. The vineyards sit only a short distance from the Tyrrhenian Sea, surrounded by the low evergreen scrub known locally as macchia: rosemary, juniper, myrtle, lavender, and other resinous plants whose aromas seem to permeate the countryside. Summers are hot and dry, but maritime air and the estate's elevated, well-drained slopes provide essential ventilation. Beneath the vines lies an intricate mixture of lime-rich petrified clay, silex, chalky gravel, and mineral fragments. It is a demanding environment capable of producing immense concentration, yet Chiarelotto has spent decades pursuing the more difficult objective of preserving elegance and aromatic clarity within all that natural Mediterranean intensity.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eChiarelotto arrived at Montepeloso from an unusual direction. Trained as a historian and raised in Switzerland before returning to his native Tuscany, he purchased the estate in 1998 after becoming convinced that its remarkable soils had not yet been fully understood. Almost immediately, he undertook a radical restructuring of the vineyards, retraining, pruning, and regrafting thousands of vines despite the severe short-term reduction in production. Over time, his attention shifted increasingly toward varieties and individual selections capable of retaining freshness through Suvereto's hot, dry summers. Lupo is perhaps the clearest expression of that continuing investigation. It comes from a single two-hectare parcel of approximately 25-year-old Sangiovese whose older vine material produces large, loosely formed bunches and unusually gentle tannins at full maturity. Rather than forcing this distinctive fruit into a conventional mold, Chiarelotto built an entirely new wine around its natural delicacy.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThat same sensitivity continues in the cellar. The grapes are farmed organically and harvested with the intention of retaining freshness rather than accumulating maximum ripeness. Fermentation proceeds with native yeasts, and maceration lasts only about ten days—long enough to capture Sangiovese's perfume and savory complexity without extracting excessive color or tannin. The wine then spends approximately five months in old French demi-muids, whose size and neutrality allow a slow exchange of oxygen without imposing obvious oak flavor, followed by further refinement in tank and bottle. Production amounts to only around 400 cases. The finished wine occupies a fascinating space between a pale red and an exceptionally dark rosato, but its identity is unmistakably that of Sangiovese: tart cherry fruit, brisk acidity, earthy spice, and a fine herbal bitterness that gives the finish shape and appetite-inducing tension.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eServe the 2025 Montepeloso \"Lupo\" at approximately 54–58°F in a medium-sized Burgundy stem. In the glass, it shows a luminous ruby-red color with translucent garnet edges. The nose opens with wild strawberry, red currant, sour cherry, and pomegranate before expanding toward blood orange peel, dried rose, violet, white pepper, fennel seed, rosemary, lavender, and sun-warmed earth. The palate is light-bodied but not insubstantial, with juicy red fruit framed by brisk acidity, delicate tannins, and a subtle saline quality that becomes increasingly pronounced as the wine opens. The finish is long, clean, and savory, marked by crushed stone, citrus peel, dried herbs, and a faintly bitter cherry-pit note. Pair it with triglie alla Livornese, the coastal Tuscan preparation of red mullet gently cooked with ripe tomato, garlic, parsley, olive oil, and a touch of chile. Lupo's chill and acidity refresh the fish's rich, flavorful flesh; its red fruit absorbs the sweetness of the tomato; and its peppery, herbal character echoes the garlic, parsley, and Mediterranean aromatics. It is a pairing that captures the full geography of the wine—from Suvereto's warm inland hills to the fishing ports of the nearby Tyrrhenian coast.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Elevage","offers":[{"title":"750ml","offer_id":47311557755036,"sku":"CAUB2608-MON25LUPOTROS-750","price":32.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0694\/6937\/2572\/files\/MontepelosoLupoToscanoRosso_2025WEB.png?v=1785787153","url":"https:\/\/thecaubleist.com\/products\/montepeloso-lupo-toscano-rosso-tuscany-italy-2025","provider":"The Caubleist","version":"1.0","type":"link"}