Soraldo 2020: De' Ricci's Premier Vino Nobile

Forty days. That’s how long the skins of the Soraldo 2020 stay in the juice, in wooden vats rather than steel. For De’ Ricci’s standard Vino Nobile it’s twenty-five. This is the most labour-intensive wine the house makes, and the smallest: ten to thirteen thousand bottles a year.

I’ve tasted it twice. The first time it struck me as elegant. The second time, powerful. Both are true, and that needs explaining.

One site, different ground

Soraldo is named after the family’s grandfather. The grapes come from a single historic site five hundred metres up. The soil there is unlike that of the house’s other wines: sand, grey limestone and seashells, not volcanic ground. The vines average twenty-two years, the oldest on the estate.

I wouldn’t claim I can taste that soil. My notes do differ, though. For the standard Nobile, from volcanic ground in the south, I wrote red cherry and lemon zest. For the Soraldo, cocoa, coffee and wet earth.

How it’s made

After a strict selection, the grapes ferment in wooden vats at a tightly controlled temperature, followed by that long forty-day maceration. The wine then spends twenty-four months in barrique and another year in bottle before it leaves the cellar.

Tasting Note

Appearance

Garnet.

Nose

Layered. Cherry, black cherry and red plum at the core, with wild strawberry, dates and incense. Cocoa powder and wet earth add depth.

Palate

Medium body, balanced by very fine-grained tannins.

Finish

The makers call it “a finish of rare beauty”. They exaggerate less than you’d expect.

The first note

In spring 2025 the Soraldo 2020 was poured at La Grande Bellezza in Amsterdam, next to the Rosso and the standard Nobile. There I wrote: a soft nose of coffee, toffee, leather, tobacco, chocolate, cocoa and black cherry. Acidity and tannins neatly balanced. Medium weight, elegant.

Next to its two siblings, it was the softness that stood out. Tasted on its own, it was the power. That’s how a wine like this works: it’s as big as the company you pour it in.

My reservations

Two things stop me from cheering without conditions. First, this is a wine of ten to thirteen thousand bottles, so don’t count on finding it everywhere. Second, it will keep until 2040, and anyone opening it now is drinking a wine that’s nowhere near done.

If you want to drink Montepulciano tonight, buy the standard Vino Nobile. If you want a bottle to put away, this is the one.

At the table

A wine with this much weight wants a plate with some weight. Think braised game, roast lamb or an aged pecorino.

Producer: De' Ricci, Montepulciano
Wine: Soraldo, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano DOCG
Vintage: 2020
Region: Tuscany, Italy
Grape: Sangiovese (Prugnolo Gentile)
Vineyard: Single historic site at 500 m, sand, grey limestone and seashells
Vines: Average 22 years, the oldest on the estate
Winemaking: Fermented in wooden vats, 40-day maceration
Ageing: 24 months barrique, 12 months bottle
Production: 10,000 to 13,000 bottles
Drinking window: Until 2040

Sources

My own tasting notes, La Grande Bellezza, Amsterdam, spring 2025, and a later tasting
Consorzio del Vino Nobile di Montepulciano: consorziovinonobile.it, for the DOCG rules