De Monaco & Holland (Todi, UMBRIA)
Like an “undiscovered” Tuscany, Umbria is one of the great secrets of Italy.
Many of her wines are either super rustic and “natural” (Paolo Bea or Antano Milziade can both be great, with much bottle variation in my experience) or overly polished, “modern” and market-driven (Arnaldo Caprai and Antonelli are two of the big players), so when I tasted the wines of Lorenzo di Monaco I promptly fell head-over heels. They are neither of these extremes. Instead his Rosso di Todi is a perfect expression of a great old-world terroir (alluvial sediments with sand, gravel, and clay) created with a deft touch that showcases the purity of Sangiovese at its best.
Two hours North of Rome, the Medieval hilltop town of Collazzone is in the heart of Umbria, and part of the recently-awarded DOC of “Rosso di Todi”, on the Southern border of the DOCG of Montefalco Sagrantino.
The Umbrians are said to be the most ancient people of Italy (gens antiquissima Italiae) and are thought to be named “Ombrii” by the Greeks, on account of their having survived the rains after the great flood. As Rome became a global power and put an end to this Umbrian culture, first expanding across the Tiber in 396 BC, the hillside towns that flank this ancient river bed are still planted to a mix of ancient biotypes of red and white grapes from Roman times.
In Todi DOC the Sangiovese overshadows Sagrantino, and Lorenzo De Monaco has four different biotypes of it planted in his SW-exposed “Agri Segretum,” along with smaller amounts of Colorino, Malvasia Nera, and some newly-planted “Grero,” or “Greco Nero,” the dark-skinned cousin of Greco di Tufo.
With just six hectares in production (and a few more newly planted) Lorenzo’s alchemy is his attention to detail, both in the vineyards (with algae and orange extract treatments as one example of his devotion to homeopathic farming) and in his tiny (but immaculate) cellar, where he experiments with a mix of clay amphorae, and Demi-muids from Taransaud, and larger oval botti from Mittelberger and Rousseau. He also enjoys the benefit of consulting with Ruggero Mazzilli, whose “Viticoltura biologica” is one of the reference standard texts on biodynamic farming in Italy.
Lorenzo bottles most of his wines under the label “Agri Segretum,” selling through various importers in the US, but he agreed to let me work with just one Rosso di Todi bottling that I liked the most, which was bottled under wax and labelled as “De Monaco & Holland.”
His 2019 vintage is inky, juicy and delicious now, but also with enough structure and tannins that make you want to hide it away in the cellar!
De Monaco & Holland 2019 Rosso di Todi DOC (tech sheet)
Four biotypes of Sangiovese 80%, Malvasia Nera 10%, and Colorino 10%, picked beginning October 5th. Native yeast fermentation and maceration for 20 days, then aging in 500L botti, and bottled after 24 months. 250 cases imported.
