When Fabio Chiarelotto, a trained historian, purchased the Montepeloso estate in 1998, it was already well on its way to international stardom. While Chiarelotto could have rested on that reputation, he understood the estate was only beginning to reach its full potential.

The winery draws from hillside vineyards around the town of Suvereto, just a few miles inland from the Tyrrhenian Sea. The region’s petrified clay soils, and its temperate, Mediterranean climate, give startling intensity of flavor to its wines. It’s little wonder that a half-dozen estates have sprung up there over the past 20 years.

Isolated from Central Tuscany by the Colline Metallifere, Suvereto shares just as much with France’s Provence as it does with Central Tuscany. The local vegetation is called macchia, a blend of evergreen shrubs and herbs very similar to Provence’s garrigue, and it lends an undeniable Mediterranean character to Montepeloso’s finished wines.

Eneo — The estate’s grand vin, Eneo is Fabio’s distillation of all that he’s learned. Aged in 2nd- and 3rd-year French barrique, it is a pure expression of the Costa Etruschi (Etruscan Coast). Over time, the blend has iterated to an assemblage of Sangiovese, Malvasia Nera, Cabernet Sauvignon, with a small percent of other local varieties.