'Sacromonte' Rosso, Castello di Potentino, Tuscany 2013

Graham Greene, nephew of the great writer of the same name and an old publishing friend, approached me ten years ago about taking on the wines of Potentino, the castle and estate in southern Tuscany he and his family had lovingly and carefully restored, previously sold by the Wine Society. We tasted them and have sold them ever since.

In a sheltered valley at the foot of Monte Amiato, the highest mountain in Tuscany, the wines benefit from the very rich mineral soil of this extinct volcano and the vineyards at over 1,100 feet benefit greatly from the cool night, mountain air in summer. Wines have been made at Potentino since Etruscan times 800 BC. All work is by hand under distinguished wine maker Charlotte Hortons vigilant eye and the low yield Sacromonte, named after the Etruscans holy mountain, is one of the finest sangioveses any of us know.

In addition to Sacromonte we are also stocking their Piropo 2016 a lovely pinot noir that we think is the only pinot made in Tuscany. Another exceptional wine that would go really well with summer roast.

David Campbell
Founder of FromVineyardsDirect

How does the wine taste?
A must buy for all of us who love really good mature Italian red wine. It has lots of ripe fruit and minerality with spices and a touch of tobacco and would make a perfect match for pasta with wild boar ragù, mushroom risotto and pecorino.

What do the critics say?
"The 2013 Castello di Potentino Sacromonte is a beautifully mature Sangiovese from the sacred mountain of Monte Amiata in southern Tuscany. Organic, biodynamic and fabulously moreish, its cherry-ripe, soft, mellow and spicy and deeply alluring."
Jonathan Ray, The Spectator Magazine