Concerto 2021 - 40th Anniversary

2021 is a big year for Concerto as it is marking its 40th anniversary. Made by the Mazzei family who spans 500 years of winemaking and owns Castello di Fonterutoli in Chianti, Concerto is a high scoring and accessible Super Tuscan. Back in 1981, the Mazzei family realised the potential of planting nonindigenous grape varieties on their land and started to experiment with new training systems and new blends, giving birth to Concerto.

Concerto’s Story

Owned by the Mazzei family since 1435, Fonterutoli is truly steeped in history. The vineyards spread across 117 hectares divided into 114 distinct parcels (all harvested by hands) within seven different subzones, where altitudes vary from 200 to 570 metres. The estate went through an extensive replanting programme in the 1970s when Bordeaux grape varieties and ageing in French barriques were introduced, long before many other Tuscan estates.

Concerto was first released in 1981, when the Super Tuscan movement was getting underway. Only fifteen barriques of Concerto were made the first year. When tasted for the first time, the blend of Sangiovese and Cabernet Sauvignon was very harmonious and proved to be so perfectly balanced that the wine immediately made them think of a symphony, hence the name Concerto.

Since 2015, in a reaction to global warming, the Mazzei family has been looking to make wines less powerful but more balance and harmonious. New winemaking techniques, including shorter maceration and ageing in both concrete and oak vessels, are now taking place in order to extract smoother tannins. The results are stunning and Concerto has become one of the best priced flagship Supertuscans available on the market.

Vineyard & Winemaking

Grapes are sourced from Fonterutoli and Siepi vineyard. Both vineyards are based on decomposed limestone and sandstone and planted with vines between 15 to 30 years old. A blend of 80% Sangiovese and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, the wine is aged in French oak barrels for 18 months. Secure your stock now.

2021 – The Growing Season

2021 was a good year. A cold winter with little precipitation was followed by an initially cool spring with adequate rainfall. The summer was hot and long, with good diurnal temperature variations allowing for the grape to achieve optimum ripeness.

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Concerto di Fonterutoli - The Scores

Sweet, baked red fruits with rose and pink floral aromas on the nose alongside touches of clove, toast and cinnamon. Smooth and soft in the mouth, rich yet elegant with a supple core of strawberry, cherry and raspberries lifted by high acidity and such excellent tannins. Fully flavoured with a mineral, iron, salty tang that lingers on the tongue from the mid palate onwards with tobacco and dried spices providing nice contrast to the ripe, herbal-edged fruit. A really delicious, mouthwatering compelling glass of wine. Succulent and oh so lifted and juicy. Wondrous with a lingering sense of Italian sunshine and dried scrubland. Ageing 18 months in French oak barrels; large tonneaux for Sangiovese (80% of the blend) and smaller barriques for the Cabernet Sauvignon (20%) plus three months in concrete tanks. – 96 points Decanter Magazine

This is spicy and vibrant with a mix of red and dark berries with dried citrus peel, chili pepper and spicy herbs. Hints of bark, too. Full with layers of polished tannins and chalky, powdery texture. Juicy acidity coming through. Shows depth and concentration. Racy and long. Better from 2026. – 95 points James Suckling

A blend of 80% Sangiovese and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2021 Concerto di Fonterutoli is a thickly extracted wine that carries its fruit weight over a long and velvety mouthfeel. The wine delivers dark fruit, cherry liqueur, spice and cured tobacco. This is a contemporary Tuscan wine with broad shoulders, bold structure and rich texture. It needs a few more years of bottle age to let the tannins smooth out. Production is 34,800 bottles. – 95 points Robert Parker