Monday 19 June 2023
So we loved Spedaletto so much that we decided to stay one more night, and by sheer fluke tonight happened to be unbooked (but only tonight). Which meant we could actually tackle some wine tasting today!
The first one we tried was Ciacci Piccolomini, an old family winery whose Rosso di Montalcino I’d tried at dinner a couple of nights ago. Their Brunello was also excellent so we splashed out on a box of wine. The second place was Il Palazzone, which just came from an article on interesting Brunello producers. This was a smaller and newer family business, and the owner talked us through the process and showed us his giant barrels. Very boutique, they literally only produce Brunello, no other lower value wines at all. Prices to match, but we invested in three bottles and will be keeping them a few years!
Which gives us a new problem for the rest of our trip. We have to try and avoid baking our wines! Most days when we’ve come back to our car after leaving it parked in the sun, it’s been like a furnace. Most days haven’t even dipped under 25C in the shade. So… interesting. Stay tuned to find out how we do!
In the afternoon we visited the other, and more famous, local wine town: Montepulciano. And we found a shady spot to park (good start!). It’s a beautiful medieval town along a ridge, more touristy than Montalcino but rightly so. The only local red we tried was with a bite of lunch – well, we’ve got at least 3 more wine regions to visit on this trip and only an Audi TT to cram any purchases into! After a good explore we trundled back to our castle lodging.
We loved Poderuccio so much that we went back tonight. The owner really loves his role as host, in the most Italian way: we ordered two different glasses of red wine, so he opened two new bottles and brought them to the table; “just pay for what you drink!”
Unfortunately we over-ordered (one starter to share and one main course each is, at Poderuccio, way too much food). The gigantic pile of charcuterie and cheese to start was enough to feed a whole cheese-and-wine party. After we gave up he put the remaining third in a box (picnic tomorrow!). I would swear that Maureen’s main of liver was meant to be shared by three people. So of course to be polite we ate too much and are now suffering. Which is a shame, because the place is lovely and the food absolutely divine.
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