300% Sangiovese: One Grape, Three Perspectives - Avignonesi Explores Sangiovese Through Vintage, Time and Place

After more than 15 years of parcel-by-parcel observation in Montepulciano, Avignonesi brings together three 100% Sangiovese wines to explore how vintage, evolution and individual site shape the identity of Tuscany’s most iconic grape.

Montepulciano, September 17, 2026 - What defines Sangiovese? Is it the character of a vintage, what a decade of aging can reveal, or the identity of a single place?

With 300% Sangiovese, Avignonesi, a historic organic and biodynamic producer of Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, brings together three 100% Sangiovese wines to explore the dimensions of Vintage, Time and Place: In Grandi Annate Toscana IGT 2021, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Late Release 2016 and Poggetto di Sopra Vino Nobile di Montepulciano 2022.

The project debuts in the U.S. in September 2026 and will include the long-awaited return of In Grandi Annate and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Late Release after several years away from the market.

The three featured wines build on 15 years of work across Avignonesi’s vineyards. Each year, the estate harvests and vinifies more than 100 hectares of Sangiovese separately, creating over 60 individual micro-lots. Since 2010, this parcel-by-parcel approach has allowed the team to develop an increasingly precise understanding of how Sangiovese responds to various soils, sites, and vintages across Montepulciano.

“Sangiovese has always been at the heart of Avignonesi, but we believe there is still a great deal to say about what this grape can be today,” says Matteo Giustiniani, CEO of Avignonesi. “With 300% Sangiovese, we wanted to show its range without losing sight of where it comes from. These are wines deeply rooted in Montepulciano, while expressing the freshness, individuality and sense of place that resonate with wine drinkers today. Vintage, Time and Place allow us to show three distinct dimensions of the same grape and territory.”

To capture the Vintage pillar, In Grandi Annate 2021 blends the harvest’s top-performing sites rather than relying on a single vineyard. These sites are chosen for their ability to come together with exceptional balance, depth, and energy. Produced only when conditions warrant it, In Grandi Annate captures exclusively those vintages in which Avignonesi believes Sangiovese reaches an exceptionally complete expression.

Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Late Release 2016 explores Time through a decade of evolution. Largely aged in bottle within the cellars of the estate, this wine explores Vino Nobile di Montepulciano’s aging potential and what patience can reveal about Sangiovese. Additionally, the 2016 vintage represents a milestone for Avignonesi, marking the year of the estate’s first certified-organic Vino Nobile di Montepulciano.

For this Late Release, Avignonesi collaborated with Bonvini 1909 and French design studio Atelier Bingo to design a special label and packaging inspired by Le Capezzine, the estate’s visitor center and agricultural hub, as well as the surrounding Tuscan landscape. Through this collaboration, the project expands beyond the wine itself, reflecting Avignonesi’s broader dialogue with agriculture, landscape, and contemporary culture.

Finally, Poggetto di Sopra Vino Nobile di Montepulciano 2022 represents Place, focusing on the identity of a single vineyard. Studied parcel by parcel since 2010, Poggetto di Sopra grows on Pliocene clay-silt and calcareous soils, a composition that Avignonesi considers among the most representative of Montepulciano and one that offers a highly specific expression of Sangiovese and its territory.

“What these years have taught us is just how responsive Sangiovese is to its environment,” added Alessio Gorini, COO of Avignonesi. “Working with more than 60 individual lots allows us to observe how the same variety behaves differently according to soil, water availability, exposure and vintage. That knowledge has progressively changed the way we work: the more precisely we understand each parcel, the less we need to impose a predetermined result in the cellar.”

Three 100% Sangiovese wines. Three perspectives. One continuous exploration of Montepulciano.