What can a famous lawyer with an international clientele expect, an office with antique furnishings in Piazza Farnese, right in front of the French Embassy, descended from a family of bankers, who has three daughters to whom he is very attached, all legal profession? The minimum, to spend the rest of his days supervising the things of the study carried out by his lawyer-daughters, carving out more time for himself, a passionate gourmand, and therefore being able to devote himself to the food and wine pleasures around Italy and the world, to historical studies from which he was attracted since his youth, to great conversations with friends about the politics that have always intrigued him. And this was in the dreams of the Florentine lawyer Saverio Roberti, studying in Rome and also studying in Milan. And a bought property in Montepulciano in Tuscanyborn to breathe Florentine air, but above all, honorable compromise, to bring the family down from Milan on weekends and be able to reach them from Rome when the studio is closed.
But destiny has its own logics, which don't always follow dreams, even if sometimes, perhaps, it manages to reveal unexpressed or dormant aspects of the human person. As Karl Gustav Jung recommended: “Make the unconscious conscious, otherwise the unconscious will guide your life and you will call it destiny”.
In short, when the eldest of the daughters, the lawyer Olimpia, is hired in aor study alloyle international in Milan, where a future of banks, boards of directors, finance companies, travel abroad awaits him, Saverio Roberti does not have time to enjoy this first, coveted, professional achievement of the family - and what an achievement - because he receives a phone call from the eldest daughter who hits his head with the force of a mallet.
The tone of the conversation was something like: Dear Dad, I studied as you wanted, I followed all your advice, I did everything you wanted, but I cannot see myself trapped in a frenetic life of business, courts and financial negotiations. Because I see my life in Montepulciano in the countryside doing wine.
If theRobert lawyer he didn't faint but what happened next is no less amazing. Immediately with his daughter Olimpia he went to the countryside of Montepulciano, identified an abandoned property of 20 hectares, the Podere Casella, and bought it on the spot. It would have arisen there Le Bertille winery. Not enough, and maybe old Jung was right here, the lawyer Roberti decides to close his office and move to Montepulciano to do things seriously.
On the spot he meets an old farmer, "il Beppe", a great master of the countryside, very skilled in grafting, the dean of the other farmers in the area, and he enlists him in the sense that he will have to open the world of wine to him and teach his daughters, above all to Olimpia, to move in the world of cultivation practices, rooted cuttings, pruning, viticulture, but above all respect for nature and its prerogatives. Roberti and his daughter Olimpia throw themselves headlong into it. Olimpia in turn devours books, studies cellars, winemaking methods, consults experts in the sector, travels around Italy, devours everything there is to learn to make a quality wine.
Times bear witness to the brilliant madness of Saverio Roberti: in 2001 the Podere Casella was acquired. In 2004 he opened the Agriturismo San Gallo. In 2006 the first Nobile di Montepulciano, vintage 2003, was bottled. The wines of the Le Bertille cellar were soon appreciated and known well beyond the borders of Tuscany.
“The first few years – recalls Olimpia – were very hard. For me it was a race against time. I was hungry to learn the trade and all the secrets of him. The first joy was the purchase of tractors, a childhood dream come true. Then the fixed idea, for which I didn't sleep at night, was to take over the agronomic part, as well as the cellar, practicing on the land, going to prune, learning about the plant and its millenary secrets, the soil and the whims of the seasons, but also learning to use the bottling machine and obviously also to drive the tractors. I was well aware that being a woman and coming from another background would have been an uphill battle for me. But I didn't get discouraged by that. If I wanted to tell my employees how I wanted certain jobs done, I had to gain credibility and respect in the field. It has been a long process of conquest but the results have come. As dad used to tell us when we were little: Napoleon won with the soldiers he had, so it was up to me to form my army, direct the work and choices of employees. So I had to learn the trade quickly and well to gain credibility in relationships with collaborators and consultants, and with the whole predominantly male world that revolves around the world of wine”.
And the results have come, and how! After the death of her father, Olimpia firmly took over the reins of the company, carrying on and transforming a family passion into a successful entrepreneurial activity. Le Bertille today produces 80.000 bottles of Nobile di Montepulciano at the top of the enological rankings, Rosso di Montepulciano, Chianti dei Colli Senesi and, finally, a wine that says it all, "L'Attesta", wanted by the father lawyer and dedicated to women, "for his ability to involve and seduce". Wines that obtain prestigious awards such as the silver medal of World Wine Decanter for Nobile 2008, and flattering reviews from the most important national guides. Luca Maroni in the Guide to the best wines of Italy, judges that the Nobile di Montepulciano 2009, of "great extractive richness, for its stainless and clear perfumes, which stands out for integrity among the absolute best of the denomination". The Veronelli Guide assigns it three stars. Bibenda, another guide of Italian excellence, judges the Nobile "excellent" and assigns it 5 bunches, the maximum mark for wines of excellence.
And the wines of Le Bertille fly also abroad: United States, where they are present in thirty states, Brazil, Japan, China. “A great satisfaction came to us from Sweden where we won a Swedish Monopoly Tender for which our Rosso di Montepulciano was chosen as the Italian wine to be sold (50.000 bottles) in Monopoly stores throughout Sweden. A great success, and proof that having merit and product you can get to the top places”.
Obviously results pursued with stubbornness by a woman who today is confronted face to face with winemakers, with long-standing winemakers, participates in international fairs, intending from day one to demonstrate that if there is true passion and tenacity, the rest follows.
From the outset, the company's philosophy has been to seek out Vino Nobile in its identity, i.e. not pursuing a muscular, powerful and concentrated wine at all costs, like most of the wines of the 90s influenced by the super fashion Tuscan, international vines and aging in barriques. Conversely, the road taken by Olimpia Roberti was that of the search for a Noble with a very clean nose and clear and intense aromas, above all very elegant.
Once again Olimpia pays homage to the foresight of her father who advised her, in the years in which Cabernet, Merlot and petit Verdot were being planted, to plant in 2001 alongside clones of Sangiovese with small grapes and loose bunches, the autochthonous vines which historically were in the vineyards from the 60s that is Ciliegiolo, Colorino and Canaiolo.
Il Nobile di Montepulciano today is the bet won by Olimpia Roberti
The blend is made up of 90% Sangiovese and 10% between Canaiolo and Colorino.
The vinification takes place in vats Slavonian oak barrel with long maceration on the pomace and frequent gradual pumping over. The temperature is gradually raised up to 30°C.
Fermentation times reach 20 days. The wine is then left to age in small 5,50 hl Slavonian oak barrels for 12 months and then spent the following 18 months in 40 hl Slavonian oak barrels.
The Riserva 13 degrees and 50, awarded with five bunches of Bibenda in 2017, is produced only in exceptional years from carefully selected grapes in historic vineyards.
With a clear intense ruby red color, the Nobile Montepulciano Riserva reveals an ethereal and complex bouquet to the nose with spicy notes of red fruit jam, dried plum, dried rose, undergrowth, balsamic and cinchona hints. The important structure is supported by the fine and elegant tannins of the best expressions of Sangiovese.
It is best expressed in combination with braised meats, pork loin with prunes, truffled pheasant. A wine not to be missed on the table especially for important Christmas dinners.
28 euro price
Le Bertille farm
Via delle Colombelle, 7
53045 Montepulciano (Si)
Tel and Fax (+39) 0578 758330
Mobile (+39) 339 7769444
The lands on which the vines grow are of Pliocene origin. In particular, these are evolved soils on sands. The characteristic of these soils of medium fertility is that of giving good oenological results as they contribute to giving a reduced production of fruit per vine, the bunch has an average low weight, the plant benefits from a high availability of oxygen.
These are soils capable of cushioning the variability of the climate and therefore of reducing its negative effects on the vines.
The grapes planted are: Ciliegiolo, Colorino, Mammolo, Canaiolo, Prugnolo gentle (Sangiovese grown in Montepulciano).
The grapes, all dating back to the old vines present in the company, are distributed over the land in such a way as to compose a single vineyard, then they are harvested and vinified together. The Agriturismo San Gallo also stands on the farm, 2 kilometers from Montepulciano, surrounded by the stupendous landscapes of the Tuscan countryside, between valleys and hills, woods and ancient villages.
THEAgritourism St. Gallen born from the renovation of an old farmhouse and built in the name of the most welcoming hospitality and respect for the natural landscape, it is located in a strategic position to explore the artistic beauties of the area or let yourself be tempted by the gastronomic itineraries that make this region famous in the world.
