The young Francesco Mariani has been quietly making soulful wines in the renowned hill town of Montefalco since 2003. I first met Francesco a number of years ago at ViniVeri—the wine fair for an invite only natural farming “club” that includes some of Italy’s most famous names. He has an avid following among wine geeks and those who know the appellation intimately. He has always farmed biodynamically with the goal to foster true biodiversity and to prevent the buildup of treatments in the soil.

Francesco works in the manner that we typically find most exciting —spontaneous fermentation in concrete with aging in concrete or old Slavonian oak, and bottling without fining or filtration. Nothing is ever rushed—there is a monastic rigidity and discipline to regimens like this. The results speak clearly and in compelling fashion. These are traditional leaning expressions from fruit with truly balanced phenolics from excellent farming. In short, these are simply well-judged wines of place—structured yet with fine extraction and harmony.

In recent years, Francesco has started to bottle outside of the appellation, feeling that the bureaucracy hinders true expressions of Montefalco. This sentiment is something we regularly see—more controlled and engineered wines become so common that their expressions skew the perception of what wine from an appellation should be like.

Francesco’s Sagrantino di Montefalco is always his most allocated and sought-after wine, although his two Sangiovese based Rosso bottlings and skin contact Trebbiano Spoletino offer serious value and the real essence of Montefalco. His most unique offering is an incredible Sagrantino based Vermouth (Vermouth Numero Uno) Produced as Barolo Chinato is, this biodynamic elixir is a real showstopper and a far cry from the masses of commercial amaros and digestivos that monopolize the market.