Prosecco’s Bortolomiol branches into Tuscany

Historic Prosecco producer Bortolomiol has expanded its reach into Tuscany, having purchased its first vineyard in Montalcino.

Known for its sparkling wine production, founder Giuliano Bortolomiol was the first to make a brut Prosecco in the 1960s, pre-empting today’s international thirst for the Italian fizz.

Today, the estate is run by sisters Maria Elena, Elvira, Luisa and Giuliana, who have expanded the company’s remit outside of Valdobbiadene for the first time to Tuscany.

Segreto di Giuliano is a 100% Sangiovese produced from the newly acquired vineyard, which is located near to the medieval Castel Verdelli, aged for 12 months in French oak barriques.

Just 2,675 bottles have been released from the 2016 vintage.

“This wine is part of an important journey,” said Elvira Bortolomiol, vice president of Bortolomiol. “A few years ago my sisters and I found some of our father’s notebooks, the writings included some recollections of Tuscany where we always spent our summer holidays. Among the notes on the big reds of these lands was also the dream of one day being able to add a red grape label to the collection, and so this is where the origins of this project lie.”

The 2016 vintage has been crafted by winemaker Roberto Cipresso, who added: “We are in the presence of a world-beater, a Sangiovese endowed with freshness and possessing an unmistakable balsamic note which is accompanied by aromas of tobacco and refined sweet spices.

“The potential for aging is considerable, but the Segreto di Giuliano is already today an extremely pleasant wine to savour. Everything is rounded off with a harmony and balance that makes it a wine worthy of the man who inspired it.”