As part of Honest Grapes 10 Year Anniversary celebrations, we were thrilled to welcome to London PierFilippo Abruzzese from Valdicava, our longest standing partner grower in Tuscany, for a special evening at TOZI in Victoria, which has hosted us for several previous successful tasting events.

Valdicava

The Abruzzese family were one of the twenty-five founder members of the Consorzio Brunello di Montalcino in 1967 and now Vincenzo and his son Pierfilippo, third and fourth generations since, are ensuring that the reputation of the estate remains second to none. Robert Parker said that "... a strong argument can be made that Valdicava is among the top three or four Brunello di Montalcino producers" and there is no denying the cult status the winery now enjoys today, with more 100-point (JS) scores than any other Montalcino grower.

This boutique 10-hectare estate in the north of the region, at the foot of the famous hill of Montosoli retains two of Italy's best wine consultants, winemaker Attilio Pagli and agronomist Andrea Paoletti and, by insisting on unusually low yields, produces a maximum of 6000 cases of wine of which the most sought after is the Riserva Madonna del Piano, which Suckling declares to be “one of the great wines of Tuscany, if not Italy." The wine line up included the first bottles to arrive in the UK of the estate’s single vineyard Vigna Montosoli 2019, the only wine ever to score 100 points (JS) in every year of its production (2015, 2016 & now 2019).

Wines were accompanied by a selection of sharer dishes from TOZI’s excellent Cicchetti Feast Menu.

Wine Line Up

Marchesi Antinori, Bramito Della Sala Chardonnay 2022 92 points (EG)
Valdicava Rosso di Montalcino 2022
Valdicava Rosso di Montalcino (older vintage TBC)
Valdicava Brunello di Montalcino 2019 97 points (JS)
Valdicava Brunello di Montalcino 2016 (magnum) 98 points (JS)
Valdicava Brunello di Montalcino 2013 98 points (JS)
Valdicava Brunello di Montalcino ‘Vigna Montosoli’ 2019 100 points (JS) Valdicava Brunello di Montalcino Riserva ‘Madonna del Piano’ 2016 100 point (JS)