Returning favorites from Monte Bernardi with guest stars Piemaggio and Monteraponi!
3/14/2025

Whenever I look at the label on a bottle of wine, a plethora of questions arise. Who makes this wine, how do they farm, what's the philosophy behind the winemaking, and of course, exactly how good is the wine? One further question arose whenever I saw bottles from Monte Bernardi on the shelves: why do these sell out so fast?!? My curiosity lingered until only recently when the winemaker Michael Schmelzer came by the shop. After tasting the lineup from Monte Bernardi, I finally got my answer.
For those who are unfamiliar, Michael and his family bought the Monte Bernardi estate in Panzano back in 2003. Despite the name Monte Bernardi having been found in documents dating back to the late eleventh century, the first estate bottled wines were only released in 1992! Monte Bernardi finds itself in Panzano, nestled in the larger Greve in Chianti region bordering with Castellina and Radda in Chianti. The soils here are the region's famed shale called galestro along with calcareous sandstone (pietraforte) and some plots of limestone (alberese). Certain plots even have a type of pure sandstone called macigno.

Monte Bernardi's cherished rocky soils of galestro, macigno, and pietraforte.
When the Schmelzer family took over, they elevated the estate's farming practices to incorporate biodynamic principles. In the vineyards they maintain cover crops, use cow manure as fertilizer for soil health, and only use minimal copper and sulfur when needed.
All vines are pruned and picked by hand. To kick off winemaking and cellar work, the grapes are lightly crushed, after being destemmed, into either stainless, concrete, or oak vessels. Wine is kept on the skins, before alcoholic fermentation, for up to 5 days. Natural primary fermentation lasts from 20 to 27 days and then secondary fermentation begins in oak. The final step before bottling is aging in oak or concrete, up to 30 months depending on the wine.
The entire line up of wines we tasted were incredible, from the flagship Chianti Classico Riserva (my favorite) with vines on average of 55 years, to the estate's crown jewel, the MB 1933. New to the shop is Tzingarella, a younger vine "Super Tuscan" made in the same spirit as Tzingana, minus the Petit Verdot. During the tasting, Michael spoke a lot about the current issues that winemakers are facing in the region. Tuscany is being pummeled by drought conditions - what feels like a constant barrage from mother nature. This makes the decisions made in the vineyards even more important. Without healthy soils and a deep root system, most vines will be parched due to lack of access to water. This causes heightened growth in the grapes that lack complexity. Luckily we have Michael calling the shots at Monte Bernardi, churning out delicious Chianti year after year.
Unfortunately there is no Tzingana available at the moment and there was no Retromarcia made in 2023 due to hail and mildew pressure. Saetta will be returning soon, Keep your eye out in the near future for that!
Joining us today on this offer are the Piemaggio Chianti Classico and Monteraponi Chianti Classico, which are both beautiful representations of Castellina and Radda's unique terroir. Castellina making more structured wines balanced by great freshness through acid and Radda's style being a bit more sleek and perfumed. A testament to Sangiovese's ability to translate minute differences in microclimates.
-Ranggy Tapia