The 2015 Monteverro comes out with gangbuster intensity and richness, keeping the wine very much in line with our expectations of this profound and exuberant vintage. I tasted bottle number 3,505 of 17,821 made. The estate's flagship wine is composed of 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Cabernet Franc, 15% Merlot and 10% Petit Verdot all aged in oak (with 80% new barrique) for two years. This wine is lavishly layered with dark fruit, dried cherry, tar, smoke and exotic spice. Those aromas just jump right out at you, never letting up in intensity or complexity.

Sampled during a vertical tasting of 2008-2021 vintages in August 2024. The 2015 is a nicely made wine, very tight and needs time to soften. The tannins are incredibly compact, and the fruit quality is more in the red fruit spectrum with a saline mineral finish. Monteverro is in Capalbio, in the Tuscan Maremma, about a mile from the sea as the crow flies. The estate harbours 24.28 hectares of vines on eroded stony soils, much like the round river rocks of the Rhône Valley. The in-house winemaker is Matthieu Taunay, and Jean Hoefliger has served as a consultant since 2008, the first vintage. The winery is a state-of-the-art facility, allowing for stainless steel, concrete egg, and barrel fermentation. The blend for Monteverro always leads with Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. The wines are half barrel fermented and half stainless steel fermented with roughly 70-80% new French oak for 24 months, with native yeast leading the way. The best blocks of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc are on northwest-facing slopes, where it's a bit cooler. The blend here includes 10% Petit Verdot.