Vecchie Terre di Montefili Anfiteatro, 2005, IGT Toscana, Italy

Plums, tobacco & spice. Dramatically grown in an amphitheatre, naturally.

Grown in an amphitheatre vineyard planted with old vine Sangiovese, this has spent 12 months in small oak barrels. It is a wine that is just going to get better and better. Decanter Magazine gave it 5 Stars: They described it as "tight, concentrated, not giving much away." and went on to say that the "Fruit will win. There is a great deal here." This is a wine just coming into its prime.

At Vecchie Terre di Montefili they do things slightly different. The estate - you’ll be greeted by a pair of towering cypresses guarding the entrance - is based right in the heart of Chianti Classico territory, the traditional centre of the region, and their history dates back to 1200. High up on the rock-solid, poor soils, where the days are hot and the nights are decidedly chilly, the old Sangiovese vines struggle to survive, with no pesticides used to protect them.