Le Bertille is a winery in the southern sector of the Montepulciano region in Tuscany, near the town itself. Its main wines are Vino Nobile di Montepulciano DOCG, Rosso di Montepulciano DOC and Chianti Colli Senesi DOCG. The owners describe their overall production zone as Caneto.
Owner: Olimpia Roberti.
Background: Saverio Roberti, a lawyer from Rome, bought the house in 1971 so his wife and three children could get away from the city at the weekends, chosing the first Tuscan city nearest to Rome, namely Montepulciano. At the time of Saverio Roberti’s purchase in 1971, there was one hectare of vines farmed by a peasant called Beppe. He taught Saverio Roberti’s three children about country life, and the eldest child called Olimpia eventually took over and produced the first wines, having also qualified as a lawyer. Saverio Roberti’s mother had belonged to the Florentine banking family of Baccelli. A Baccelli ancestor had transferred to Rome around the mid 1700’s to open a branch of the Bank.
Vineyards: There are four vineyard estates. The original one is called Le Bertille (see below). La Casella was added by Olimpia in 2001. In addition there are the San Pietro and San Giovanni estates. In total there are 22 hectares (54.3 acres) of land, of which 15 hectares (37 acres) are vines. They are in the west and south-east area of Montepulciano, below the Tempio di San Biagio.
– La Casella The Casella vineyard comprises 8 hectares (19.8 acres). 320-350 metres (1,177 feet). Mixed soil. Pliocene clay mostly. Also tufa. Oriented north-east south-west for maximum airflow. Planted with Sangiovese, Ciliegiolo, Colorino, Mammolo (massale), Canaiolo (with red stalks), Merlot and Petit Verdot.
– Le Bertille The Le Bertille vineyard comprises 2 hectares (7.4 acres) of land. 500-600 metres. In production since the 1970s. Pliocene soil, sandy. No clay. Planted with Ciliegiolo, Colorino, Mammolo, Canaiolo and Prugnolo Gentile (Sangiovese), all red grape varieties.
– San Giovanni In the Cervognano area on tufa and sand.
–San Pietro 500 metres. On clay and sand.
Other land: The rest of the land comprises an artificial lake (fed by rainwater and drainage), 2 hectares (7.4 acres) of olive groves, part of a gully, fallow land, an orchard, the Agritourism San Gallo (which opened in 2004), the farmhouse and two wine cellars, one for fermenting the wine, the other for ageing it.
Red wines
Chianti Colli Senesi DOCG, Le Bertile: 2009 75% Sangiovese, 15% Canaiolo & Colorino, 5% Merlot. £8-14.99. Sappy fruit and new oak on top of it, lean weight of albeit ripe redcurrant fruit for such oak. 14.5 Points. Commended at DWWA 3rd May 2013.
Rosso di Montepulciano DOC, Le Bretelle: 2011 Bit grubby (Anteprima 2014). | 2019 Clean and crunchy.
Vino Nobile di Montepulciano DOCG, Le Bertille | 2003 The first bottling of Vino Nobile di Montepulciano DOCG. | 2011 Flat fruit, dry tannin (Anteprima 2014). | 2015 Smooth ripe red fruit shell, light middle, soft oak, populist (Anteprima 2018). | 2017 14% alc. Some nice fruit, clear, easy (Anteprima 2020).
Vino Nobile di Montepulciano DOCG Riserva: 2013 Bottled. | 2016 14% alc.
L’Attesa: Toscana Rosso.
Contact
Le Bertille (Winery and Agritourism)
Via delle Colombelle, 7
I-53045 Montepulciano (SI), Italy
Tel+39 0578 758330 | Website: www.lebertille.com