Mocali is an estate winery in Località Mocali in the Tavernelle area in the south-west of the Montalcino region of Tuscany, Italy. Its produces Rosso di Montalcino DOC and Brunello di Montalcino DOCG, and Moscadello di Montalcino DOC. The wines are made in an approachable style. Production is about 120,000 bottles. Other wines made include Maremma Toscana DOC and Morellino di Scansano DOCG from vineyards in Montiano in Magliano in Toscana.
Owner: Tiziano Ciacci. 3rd generation here. His grandfather bought the east in the 1950s. Tiziano Ciacci’s wife is Alessandra Mililotti (they married in 1984). She owns Poggio Nardone (no details).
Background: Mocali was acquired by the Ciacci family (distant relations to Ciacci Piccolomini) in 1950 when Tiziano Ciacci’s grandfather Dino Ciacci bought the estate. Dino had a tiny vineyard from which he made wine for the family table, selling the other grapes. Dino was one of the 25 founder member of the producers’ consortium or Consorzio di Montalcino. Dino was succeeded by Silvano, his son, who focus his efforts on his herd of sheep, field crops like grain, and olives for oil. Dino sold half of the estate (getting rid of the grain crops) whilst selling his grapes to other local winemakers. Dino was succeeed by his two sons, Tiziano and Fabiano, who divided the farm between them, each taking 32ha of land (Fabiano called his estate Il Valentiano–which see). In the mid-1980s, Tiziano Ciacci and Alessandra got married and decided to live here and make wine from the old vineyards [see Valentiano] and new ones which they planted [from 1987]. They built a winery, one room at a time. Their first vintage was 1990 with only 5,000 bottles. They now produce about 120,000 bottles.
Staff: Vittorio Fiore was consulting but at Benvenuto Brunello 2014 I the owners said they had stopped working with him as he was too busy.
Vineyards–Montalcino: Mocali is southwest of the town of Montalcino. 350-400 metres. 32 hectares of land but only 10ha are vineyards: 9.5ha Sangiovese for red wines and 0.5ha Moscato Bianco for Moscadello. ‘The soil is limestone we call galestro,’ (a calcaric sediment) says Alessandra Ciacci. There is also alberese (calcareous, compact) she told me by ‘phone on 13 March 2014.
Vineyards–Scansano: The vineyard, called Suberli, is in Montiano (Grosseto province). 14ha on galestro and sandstone (‘arenaria‘) at an average altitude of 150m. 5,600 vines per ha.
Purchased grapes: ‘The grapes are not enough for our business so we buy some grapes from others producer, because the at moment we make about 120,000 bottles, 10 hectares are not enough,’ Alessandra said in an interview with Grape Collective.
Production: 50,000 bottles of regular Brunello, 6,000 bottles of the single vineyard Brunello, 35,000 bottles of Rosso di Montalcino, 2,000 bottles of the Riserva (not made every year, and sometimes the single vineyard Riserva.
Winery: They built the cantina with galestro taken from their own vineyards. Ageing in a mix of oak barrels and botte.
Red wines
Toscana Rosso IGT, Fossetti: Unoaked. Entry-level wine for easy drinking. 80% Sangiovese, 20% Canaiolo from the Maremma.
Toscana Rosso IGT, I Piaggioni: Named for the Tuscan term for the escarpments common in the area. 100% Sangiovese. Soil: galestro, alberese. Average altitude: 300m above sea level. 100% stainless steel. 8 months in tonneaux.
Rosso di Montalcino DOC, Mocali: In a 2013 interview with Grape Collective, Alessandra Mililotti Ciacci said ‘the Rosso is aged 12 months in French tonneaux.’ | 2010 A bit stalky, not for keeping (Anteprima 2014). | 2013 35,000 bottles. Bit simple and citric, not bad but quite a citric end (Anteprima 2015). | 2014 Very primary and juicy, plenty of red enzyme style fruit (Anteprima 2016). | 2020 Very bright and juicy, 13.5% (10 Jan 2023).
Brunello di Montalcino DOCG, Mocali: Ferments in stainless steel. Malolactic fermentation in oak. Ages for three years in large Slovenian oak casks and partly in French tonneaux. | 2000 Decent ripe style, rich and deep, but also old wood at finish (Anteprima 2005). | 2010 80,000 bottles. Soft mint and raspberry nose, bit green at end, thick and shortish (Anteprima 2015). | 2011 Bit simple and sweaty (Anteprima 2016).
Brunello di Montalcino DOCG, Vigna delle Raunate: I was told at Anteprima 2015 that this is not made to be kept/aged for many years. | 2009 6,000 bottles. Fermented in French oak. | 2010 6,000 bottles. Bit simple, plum sweet berries, simple and some evolution (Anteprima 2015).
Brunello di Montalcino DOCG Riserva: 2006 Bottled. | 2007 Bottled. | 2009 5,000 bottles. Steel. Botti and French oak barrels. Sweet, light, stalky, bit baked and Porty, drying out/too sweet (Anteprima 2014).
Brunello di Montalcino DOCG Riserva, Vigna delle Raunate: 2007 Bottled. | 2008 Bottled. | 2009 Bottled. | 2010 Nice deepish ruby, very sweet and seductive but over-extracted but crowdpleasingly dense (Anteprima 2016).
Maremma Toscana Rosso DOC: Ciliegiolo:
Maremma Toscana Rosso DOC: Mirus:
Maremma Toscana Rosso DOC: Cabernet:
Morellino di Scansano DOCG
Morellino di Scansano DOCG Riserva Subirli Ciaccia: 2011 Bottled.
Sweet wines
Moscadello di Montalcino DOC: The normale.
Moscadello di Montalcino DOC Vendemmia Tardiva: The Vendemmia Tardiva: The Moscadello (Moscato Bianco) grapes are already ripe in August, but are picked in October to allow the grapes to shrivel in vineyard. The wine ferments in barrel and ages there for two years before it is bottled.” | 2010 1,600 bottles.
Other crops: 2ha of olive groves.
Contact
Azienda Agraria Mocali
Loc. Mocali
I-53024 Montalcino (SI = Siena), Italy
Tel+39 0577.849485