PERGOLE TORTE: THE STUBBORN ELEGANCE OF PURE SANGIOVESE

The first time I tasted Le Pergole Torte 2018, it was one of those situations where you taste it without too many expectations, the bottle just uncorked, the wine still closed, restrained, almost shy. My reaction, true to my spontaneity, was straightforward: I found it unjudgeable . A wine opened just a few minutes ago is like a sentence just begun: you can’t define it, you can’t truly read it. It needs oxygen, time, space.

I waited, and after half an hour, it began to change pace: the very aromas and sensations that define the classic nature of this wine began to unfold on the palate—the ripest cherry, the verticality, the notes of pressed rose, lavender, earth, and light spices. That’s where everything came out : the power, the precision, the complexity. After an hour, the rest happened. On the lower palate, toward the throat, that subtle vibration appeared—not fizz, but a lively tension, a tannic micro-vibration typical of the noblest Sangiovese. That’s when the wine truly opened up: the aromas exploded, the structure relaxed, and the marvelous alchemy of this bottle emerged.

There are wines that don’t seek special effect: they become it. Le Pergole Torte is one of them. A pure Sangiovese that over the years has developed its own grammar, its own vocabulary, its own aesthetic. It doesn’t seek kinship with the “Super Tuscans,” it doesn’t chase trends, it doesn’t rely on generous oak to appear more muscular: it remains upright, sharp, sensual, profoundly Tuscan.

This was clearly seen again in the 2018 vintage, chronicled with surgical precision by Monica Larner for The Wine Advocate : 96+ points , with that “+” not a caress, but a warning. It’s the critics’ way of saying: you haven’t seen it all yet . And in fact, the ideal consumption window is as broad as a novel: 2022-2045 .

Larner speaks of a “pure expression of Sangiovese” and an almost ascetic effort to preserve elegance and classicism. Against the light, a hint of ripe cherry emerges, an aromatic boost that doesn’t betray the style, but rather intensifies it. The bouquet features touches of pressed rose, lavender, earth, and light spices: not like a baroque theater, but like a precise, whispered, almost Zen-like conversation.

The key, however, is the feel. Anyone familiar with Le Pergole Torte knows it: the silky tannins are its hallmark. Larner speaks of “shapely and fine,” sculpted and subtle, young but already noble. It’s Montevertine’s verticality, their unique way of making wines that stand upright, without ever becoming rigid.

And then there’s the reality of the table, which is often worth more than a thousand scores. A bottle opened at lunch, in the cellar, placed next to a monument like Sassicaia 2016 (100/100) —and it not only holds its own, but wins everyone over. This is the point: Le Pergole Torte isn’t a wine that shouts its greatness, it’s a wine that shows it off. It lets it breathe, lets it emerge over time, in glasses, in conversation.

Vintage after vintage, Montevertine continues to demonstrate one simple thing: the modernity of Sangiovese lies not in changing it, but in understanding it more deeply. And, as always, a personal thank you goes to Fabio: he is one of the few true researchers of special wines . His choices are never random.
He never gets a single one wrong.