La Porta di Vertine

Founded in 2006, La Porta di Vertine features an amphitheater-shaped vineyard located in Vertine, a tiny, ancient hamlet in the Chianti Classico area of Gaiole. The estate’s core mission was to explore the unique characteristics of Sangiovese. By selecting specific vineyards and soils, they successfully exalted and reflected the complexity and longevity of the variety, bringing true masterpieces to wine lovers worldwide.

La Porta di Vertine sees its greatest advantage in the galestro and alberese (shale and limestone) soils, whose composition makes the Chianti Classico region unique. The estate uses natural viticultural methods to cultivate high-altitude vineyards to sustain the landscape and regenerate the environment. The high stone content stores the sun's heat and radiates it back to the plants at night, while the constant movement of air in these high-altitude terrains naturally helps prevent fungal diseases. La Porta di Vertine has also experimented with ungrafted vines, making the wine more intense, rich, and full-flavored.

The low nutrient content of the soil is not seen as a drawback; in fact, it is the key to the personality of the final wines. This low fertility keeps vine vigor low, naturally limits yields, and increases flavor concentration. As a result, the wines are balanced and elegant, delivering the perfume and freshness of the grape variety while gaining richness and complexity over time without losing their initial vibrancy. The wines are aged in traditional Slovenian oak casks, oval Austrian casks, and double barrels.

Giacomo Mastretta, La Porta di Vertine’s winemaker and director, applied his signature "less is more" philosophy throughout both the vineyard and the cellar. He believed that natural is always best, meaning human intervention should be kept to an absolute minimum. This meticulous vineyard management resulted in small, healthy grape bunches, with an average yield per plant of one kilo or less.

Production was highly limited: just 12,000 bottles of Chianti Classico, 8,000 bottles of Riserva, 4,500 bottles of Sassi Chiusi, and 3,500 bottles of Rosato. The legendary guardian of Tuscan Sangiovese, master enologist Giulio Gambelli (who also crafted Soldera, Poggio di Sotto, and Montevertine), guided La Porta di Vertine in the final stage of his life.

2006–2016: Version 1.0

The sensational La Porta di Vertine has closed the chapter on its short but brilliant initial history. While their first vintage was in 2006, the exact final vintage remains uncertain. Our last delivery was the 2014 vintage Rosato. Winery operations were suspended in autumn 2015, and we received the official closing announcement in spring 2016. This Giulio Gambelli-inspired Sangiovese winery deeply impressed natural wine drinkers and producers alike during its ten-year run.

The vineyards have since been sold to a new owner, and wine production under a new label has already resumed. A while after hearing the news of the winery's closure, we were contacted by this new owner, who offered us the opportunity to acquire the remaining heritage stock of La Porta di Vertine. We immediately snapped up as much of this rare stock as possible.

The last message from La Porta di Vertine

"A big hug and a heartfelt thank you to all of our customers, collaborators, friends and all of those who have followed, supported, inspired, criticized and loved us, those who believed in us and helped contribute to the success of La Porta di Vertine.

Thank you to Vertine and Adine. Thank you to the vineyards, the stones, the sun, the rain, the wind, the yeast, the insects, the microorganisms and the mycorrhiza…. and to Ruggero who helped us get along with all of it! Thank you most importantly to Ellen and Dan who made this possible. It went how it went, La Porta di Vertine, as we conceived it, lived it and loved it is closed!!! Now it waits for someone else to reopen it with new ideas and new enthusiasm, we wish the best of luck to them! We did our best and we are very proud of our efforts."

Best regards from the whole team,
Cerim, Giacomo, Giulio, Jacy, Ivano & Ridjol