The Italy Wine Project

Regions / Tuscany

DOCStill huntingModerate

Cortona DOC

Tuscany's Syrah appellation, on the clay and sand hills below the Etruscan hill town of Cortona. The Rhône grape was planted here in the 1990s by Tenimenti d'Alessandro and proved a fit: black pepper, blackberry, violet, smoked meat, and olive, with medium-full body and fresher acid than Australian versions. Stefano Amerighi's biodynamic bottling is the reference and has a following in the US.

Still hunting

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If you make Cortona, import it, or know who does, the form takes two minutes and I reply to every one.

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Bottles I'm chasing

ProducerWinePriceBuy
Stefano Amerighi
Cortona Syrah
Biodynamic, whole-cluster, northern-Rhône in spirit: pepper, violet, olive and firm acid.
$40 to $50Wine-Searcher
Tenimenti Luigi d'Alessandro
Cortona Syrah
The pioneer estate's entry Syrah, riper and rounder, with blackberry and smoke.
$20 to $28Wine-Searcher
Fabrizio Dionisio
Il Castagno Cortona Syrah
Small organic estate, a plummy, peppery Syrah with scattered US listings.
$25 to $35Wine-Searcher