Montes Toscanini
About Montes Toscanini winery
Montes Toscanini was born in 1979 under the leadership of the third generation of the Toscanini family, which has a long history of winemaking in Uruguay. The family’s wine history in Uruguay actually begins at the end of the 19th century when the Toscanini family emigrated from Italy and settled in Canelones, making their first wine there in 1908.
Some seven decades later, Margot Toscanini de Montes and her brother bought a winery in Las Piedras and restarted the family tradition of making wine there, giving birth to Montes Toscanini winery in 1979.
Today the family winery is run by the fourth generation of the family, Cecilia, Juan and Leonardo, and in 1995 they converted the wine production to focus on premium and fine wines.
About Montes Toscanini vineyards
With 45 hectares of vines, the vineyards are all surrounding the winery in Las Piedras – no further than 20 kilometres from the winery in distance. Close to the River Plate, the vineyard has an important maritime and estuary influence with mild and steady temperatures throughout the year.
The soils are predominantly clay-loam with some calcareous material and have a gentle slope. Montes Toscanini has Tannat, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Cabernet Franc, Marselan, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Viognier planted.
Some of the oldest vines are 35 years old and managed carefully with sustainable viticulture methods and hand-harvested. Having worked with the same vineyards for decades, the family has identified special lots which are managed independently according to their individual needs and vinified separately to retain their unique characteristics.
About Montes Toscanini wines
The philosophy of Montes Toscanini is to “respect the elegance and complexity of the Old World while combining the pure fruit flavours of the contemporary wine world”. As part of their process in achieving this goal, the vineyards are all carefully managed and developed for their specific wine line and style.
RESERVA FAMILIAR
The portfolio starts with Reserva Familiar, a range focused on delivering great value and varietal expression.
ELEGIDO RESERVA
Elegido Reserva is a premium red blend which spends eight months ageing in oak barrel.
CARLOS MONTES
Carlos Montes is a more complex wine range which spends 12 months in oak barrels and is unfiltered.
CRIADO EN ROBLE
Criando en Roble is a more structured range which spends 15 months ageing in French oak barrels, and have good ageing potential.
CORTE SUPERMO AND GRAN TANNAT
The icon lines of the winery are Corte Supremo and Gran Tannat, a red blend and monovarietal Tannat respectively, each of which is aged for 18 months in French oak in order to offer a complex wine which can be cellared for years. These wines are made with great patience and time with minimal intervention in the winery, and are bottled unfiltered for the maximum expression from the vineyard, and only made in the best vintages.
LICOR DE TANNAT
Tannat is the emblematic variety of the winery, and made in all its ranges including a Licor de Tannat dessert wine. Montes Toscanini also has some limited-edition sparkling wines and wines with no added sulphites.
About the winemaker Leonardo Montes Toscanini
Having studied in Uruguay’s winemaking school in 1990, Leonardo Montes Toscanini is the head winemaker and General Director of the family winery. Part of the fourth generation of the family with his two brothers, he has helped steer the winery into fine wine production and his wines have been garnered with several awards.
Leonardo is on the board for the National Organisation of Winemakers (ONV) and the National Insitute of Viticulture in Uruguay (INAVI).
“Our objective is to make the very best quality wines and preserve the upmost identity and Montes Toscanini style,” says Leonardo. “Based on science, knowledge and technology, we also enjoy the art of winemaking which is free and creative, interpreting what nature gives us each vintage. Each year is a different challenge, and our icon wines [Gran Tannat and Corte Supremo] are only made in the very best years when exceptional climate conditions allow us to make this style of age-worthy wines.”
“This sensitivity to the vintage is what makes the winemakers of Uruguay different to other countries,” he adds. “There are some years in which you have to prioritise harmony and balance (with short macerations with little extraction), and others where you have to search for intensity and structure (with long macerations and high extraction). The winemaker has to wisely evaluate which objectives to prioritise and which destination to aim for by interpreting each vintage. These small details are what makes wine so fascinating.”
Visit Montes Toscanini winery
Contact Montes Toscanini via email to directly co-ordinate a private visit and tasting at the winery.
Tasting notes
Prizes and Awards
Vino Sub30: Gran Medalla de Oro
El Consumidor Rey: Gran Medalla de Oro
Catad'OR: Gran Medalla de Oro
Carlos Montes Tannat: 97 points Vinos Sub30
Testarudo Barricado: 96 points Vinos Sub30
Criado en Roble Tannat: 95 points Vinos Sub30
Reserva Familiar Tannat Rosada: 97 points Vinos Sub30
Reserva Familiar Chardonnay: 97 points Vinos Sub30
Reserva Familiar Elegido Reserva Blend: 97 points Vinos Sub30
Criado en Roble Blend Tinto: 96 points Vinos Sub30
