Italy · Montepulciano & Valdichiana

Tenuta di Gracciano della Seta

Family estate on the Gracciano hills in the Vino Nobile di Montepulciano DOCG zone, farming Prugnolo Gentile on silty-clay soils since the early nineteenth century. Vannozza della Seta manages the estate; the Podere Rovisci parcel feeds the Riserva.

The producer

Tenuta di Gracciano della Seta sits on the Gracciano hills above Montepulciano in southern Tuscany, farming 20 hectares of Prugnolo Gentile on silty-clay soils within the Vino Nobile di Montepulciano DOCG zone. The estate has been in continuous ownership since the early nineteenth century, passing from the Svetoni family through inheritance to the present della Seta Ferrari Corbelli Greco siblings. Vannozza della Seta has managed the property since 2012. Organic conversion began in 2015, and the estate uses no chemical fertilizers or herbicides, relying on copper and sulphur treatments and cover crops of legumes between the rows.

The cellar runs on a dual model that Giorgio della Seta established in 2013: a new stainless-steel fermentation hall built alongside the nineteenth-century stone ageing rooms, both in active use. Fermentation for the Riserva uses indigenous yeasts with 20 to 25 days of maceration in steel, followed by 12 months in five-hectolitre French Allier tonneaux and a further 12 months in large Slavonian-oak casks. The Riserva draws its grapes mainly from the Podere Rovisci parcel, where a heavy clay component produces fruit with the density and tannin the long wood programme requires. Total output across the four-wine range averages approximately 100,000 bottles annually.

Known for

Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Riserva DOCG

Notable facts

The story

The Turin Prize, 1864

In 1864, a wine from the Gracciano cellars was entered into the international fair held in Turin. The Svetoni family had been farming this land for roughly six decades already, and the fair was one of the few platforms where Italian producers could place their wines before an audience beyond the regional market. The wine won a prize. The precise level of the award is not recorded in the estate's surviving documents, but the entry itself is: the cellars were active, the wine was considered good enough to show publicly, and the Gracciano name appeared in the fair's results more than 160 years ago. The estate that Vannozza della Seta manages today is not the same business that entered that fair, but it stands on the same hills, works from the same stone cellar, and grows the same grape.

From the atlas

Tenuta di Gracciano della Seta

At A Glance

Producer: Tenuta di Gracciano della Seta Region: Tuscany, Italy Appellation: Vino Nobile di Montepulciano DOCG Grape: Prugnolo Gentile (Sangiovese biotype) Vineyards: 20 ha on the Gracciano hills Range: Rosato di Toscana IGT, Rosso di Montepulciano DOC, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano DOCG, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Riserva DOCG Farming: Organic conversion from 2015 Annual production: approximately 100,000 bottles

The Producer

Tenuta di Gracciano della Seta sits on the Gracciano hills above the medieval town of Montepulciano in southern Tuscany, and the estate has occupied this address since the early nineteenth century. Vino Nobile di Montepulciano DOCG is the appellation here: a Sangiovese-led red that the local growers call Prugnolo Gentile, and a DOCG that demands at least 70 per cent of the grape in any wine carrying the name. Gracciano della Seta puts it at 90 per cent or above in its top wine.

The Svetoni family held the property from the early 1800s. It passed by inheritance to Giorgio della Seta, who renewed the vineyards and in 2013 built a new stainless-steel vinification hall beside the nineteenth-century ageing cellar rather than replacing it. Giorgio's three children, Marco, Vannozza and Galdina della Seta Ferrari Corbelli Greco, are the present owners. Vannozza has managed the estate since 2012. Her husband, Aldo Paravicini Crespi, has worked in biodynamic agriculture for more than thirty years, and organic conversion at the estate began in 2015.

Place

Montepulciano is a hilltop town in the province of Siena, and its DOCG zone takes in the sloping land around the town at elevations that temper the heat of the Tuscan interior. The Gracciano hills form one of the named sub-zones within that territory, and the estate identifies them as a historically recognised cru. Vino Nobile as a category is Sangiovese grown here under the alias Prugnolo Gentile: the grape choice, the minimum blend percentage and the two-year ageing requirement (three for Riserva) are all written into DOCG law, and every bottle carrying the name carries the weight of those rules.

Within the Gracciano zone, soil varies between parcels. The dominant type is silty-clay, which holds moisture through dry summers and limits vine vigour without irrigation. The clay fraction is heaviest in the Podere Rovisci parcel, and that concentration is exactly why Rovisci grapes go into the Riserva: fuller body, firmer tannin, and the physical density needed to support a long wood programme.

Soil And Site

The estate's 20 hectares of vineyards are all on the Gracciano hills, on soils the estate describes as silty-clay. The Maramai vineyard holds a section of vines more than 40 years old, whose age limits yield and typically delivers smaller, more flavour-dense fruit. Average vine age across the estate is around 15 years, reflecting the replanting work Giorgio della Seta carried out before the 2013 cellar build.

The Podere Rovisci parcel has a particularly pronounced clay component. Clay retains water and warmth differently than sandy or limestone soils, producing grapes with weight and tannin suitable for extended ageing. The estate routes Rovisci fruit exclusively to the Riserva, where that material meets a 24-month wood programme.

Story

The Svetoni family owned the Gracciano property from the early nineteenth century, and a wine from these cellars won a prize at the 1864 Turin international fair, placing the estate in active production before Italian unification had properly settled. Ownership eventually passed through inheritance to Giorgio della Seta, and from Giorgio to his three children.

Giorgio's most tangible decision came in 2013. He rebuilt the working cellar without touching the old one: a new stainless-steel fermentation hall went up alongside the nineteenth-century stone ageing rooms, and both have operated together since. The new cellar handles vinification, while the historic cellar remains in use for ageing in wood. Keeping the two buildings was a cellar choice about what each does well.

Vannozza took over management in 2012. Organic conversion began three years later. The estate now uses no chemical fertilizers or herbicides, relies on copper and sulphur treatments for vineyard health, and sows cover crops of legumes and herbaceous plants between rows when needed.

Vineyards And Cellar

Harvest is by hand across all 20 hectares, with selection taking place at the vine rather than on a sorting table. Bunches are assessed and culled in the vineyard, which means only the selected fruit reaches the cellar.

Fermentation for the Riserva happens in stainless steel with indigenous yeasts, and maceration runs for 20 to 25 days, extracting colour, tannin and fruit concentration from the skins. After fermentation, the wine spends 12 months in five-hectolitre French Allier tonneaux, toasted to a medium level, before moving to large Slavonian-oak casks of 25 to 50 hectolitres for a further 12 months. The sequence matters: the smaller French vessels integrate tannin and add a modest degree of micro-oxygenation early in the ageing cycle; the large Slavonian casks, with their lower wood-to-wine ratio and neutral character, allow the wine to develop without adding new oak flavour. Total wood time is 24 months before bottling.

Wines

Four wines cover the range. The Rosato di Toscana IGT sits outside the DOC and DOCG tier and carries an IGT (Indicazione Geografica Tipica) designation, signalling a lighter style for earlier drinking. The Rosso di Montepulciano DOC is the entry-level red within the Montepulciano zone, made from younger or lighter parcels and aged for a shorter time than the Nobile. Both act as the approachable end of the range.

The Vino Nobile di Montepulciano DOCG is the estate's main Sangiovese-led red and the wine that carries the appellation's full legal requirements. It is Prugnolo Gentile at the minimum DOCG percentage, aged in wood, and released with dark cherry and earth in the flavour register.

The Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Riserva DOCG is the cellar's top wine and the most site-specific bottle in the range. Grapes come mainly from Podere Rovisci. The 2021 vintage uses 90 per cent Prugnolo Gentile and 10 per cent Merlot, fermented with indigenous yeasts after 20 to 25 days of maceration in steel, then aged for 24 months across the two oak formats. In a year like 2017, production reached only 6,666 bottles. Total estate output across all four wines averages approximately 100,000 bottles annually.

In The Glass

Prugnolo Gentile on silty-clay produces a particular kind of red: dark-fruited rather than bright, with a firm tannic spine and acidity that keeps the wine from feeling heavy despite its weight. The Vino Nobile opens with black cherry, dried plum, and a layer of earth and dried herbs, the kind of aromatic profile that comes from Sangiovese grown in warm, clay-influenced soil. In the mouth, the tannin is present but not raw, the mid-palate has genuine flesh, and the acidity pulls through the finish, leaving the wine clean rather than fat.

The Riserva amplifies every dimension. The 24-month wood programme adds a cedary depth and smooths the grain of the tannin without reducing its presence. The split between small tonneaux and large Slavonian casks means the oak is integrated without an oak-dominated nose. The finish is long, with the dried-herb and earth notes returning after the fruit has settled. Older vines in the Maramai parcel and the clay density of Podere Rovisci both contribute to the weight and length here. This is wine that benefits from time in the bottle.

A Bottle To Understand It

Start with the Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Riserva DOCG. It is Prugnolo Gentile from the Podere Rovisci parcel, fermented in steel and aged for two years across French tonneaux and Slavonian-oak casks. The wine is full-bodied, with firm tannin, a substantial mid-palate, and an acid line that extends the finish. Dark cherry and dried plum lead the nose; earth and cedar follow after the wine has been open for thirty minutes. There is no new-oak sweetness and no attempt to soften the grape's natural grip.

Anecdote

In 1864, a wine from the Gracciano cellars was entered into the international fair held in Turin that year. The Svetoni family, who owned the estate at the time, had been farming this land for roughly six decades already, and the fair was one of the few platforms where Italian producers could place their wines before an audience beyond the regional market. The wine won a prize. The precise level of the award is not recorded in the estate's surviving documents, but the entry itself is: the cellars were active, the wine was considered good enough to show publicly, and the Gracciano name appeared in the fair's results more than 160 years ago. The estate that Vannozza della Seta manages today is not the same business that entered that fair, but it stands on the same hills, works from the same stone cellar, and grows the same grape.

Final Word

Gracciano della Seta is a long-established Montepulciano address farming one of the DOCG zone's named hill crus. The Riserva, drawn from the clay-heavy Rovisci parcel and aged for two years in complementary wood formats, is the estate's most argued bottle and the clearest expression of what Prugnolo Gentile on these slopes can produce. Organic farming since 2015, hand harvesting across all parcels, and the deliberate retention of the nineteenth-century ageing hall are all decisions that point in the same direction: less intervention, more of the place in the glass.

Sources

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