2015 Monte Antico Toscana Rosso Tuscany 750 ml

On the heels of back-to-back sellouts of Monte Antico’s Supremus Toscana, a dazzling Super Tuscan of stratospheric pedigree and value, our very own Eduardo Dingler performed an act of bravery never before seen at Wine Access. In securing our first-ever allocation of the 90-point $16 Rosso Toscana (yes, you read that correctly, $16), Eduardo edged out his very own wife, Laura, then the wine director for Michael Chiarello’s Bottega, who had her eye on the exact same allocation. 

The risk was great, but the reward was greater. This wine is an absolute steal. There is a richness and complexity here that belies the under-$16 price tag at every turn. Beginning with a downright sultry nose of warm raspberry, cranberry, and sour cherry tinged with dried violet, dusty red earth, and a wisp of smoke, the 2015 Rosso only picks up steam on the palate, adding what James Suckling described as “pretty tangerine and citrus character.” At the end of the ride, the finish is juicy and persistent, dominated by Sangiovese’s sour-cherry purity.  

While many wines in the sub-$20 category are “one trick ponies,” this really develops with time in the glass. In true Monte Antico fashion, the Rosso delivers a chart-topping QPR performance, just like its older sibling, the member-favorite Supremus. If it wasn’t clear, the way to stock up on this red is by the case. 

While the story ends with a legendary standoff between our VP of wine and Bottega’s wine director, the tale of the 2015 Rosso Toscana begins with an outstanding “textbook” vintage in Tuscany. A dry, sunny spring led to full flowering. Heat in June and July was relieved by refreshing rains in August, arriving just in time to unlock the final phase of ripening. Ideal conditions lasted throughout harvest, letting famed consulting enologist Franco Bernabei (Fontodi, Felsina, Banfi, Molina di Grace) take his time, allowing each site—from the Maremma, Colline Pisane, and Colli Fiorentini, with vines rooted in fine-powdered limestone up to 1,500 feet in elevation—to reach perfect maturity.

Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot were harvested at the peak of ripeness, fermented in stainless steel tanks, then aged for 12 months in a combination of traditional Slavonian oak barrels and French barriques, adding softness and polish to the wine’s rustic charm. 

Suffice it to say, the result was good enough for our own Eduardo Dingler to risk it all for the Wine Access faithful. If you’re quick enough on the draw to lock in a case, we guarantee you’ll thank him, and we’re happy to report that at the time of the writing of this offer (3:06pm on May 28th), Eduardo and Laura are still very happily married—though we understand that Eduardo has promised never again to bring up “the Antico incident.”