Sette Ponti reflects the vision of Dr. Antonio Moretti, who took over the estate from his father in the late 1990's, and immediately began producing estate-bottled wines. The vineyards occupy a total of 150 acres, at an altitude of 200 to 300 meters; the oldest vines (mostly sangiovese) date from 1935. The soil is a classic Tuscan mixture of sand, clay, limestone, and schist-based galestro. The estate - 750 acres in total - is farmed in the traditional Tuscan way, so that the vineyards are surrounded by a pastoral landscape of olive groves, wheat fields, and natural woodland.
The estate produces the consistently excellent Crognolo made primarily from Sangiovese. For the price, the track record of great scores is almost unparalleled - with multiple vintages having received 95 points from James Suckling.
Oreno (the name comes from the Oreno River, a small tributary of the Arno that flows through the property) is a classic Super Tuscan red, aristocratically structured and supremely elegant. Intriguingly, despite the fact that the blend is exclusively Bordeaux grapes (merlot, cabernet sauvignon, and petit verdot) it has a profoundly Tuscan personality, combining juicy freshness, beautifully ripe tannins (emphatic but not astringent) and earthiness without coarseness. It is a very suave expression of merlot fleshiness, cabernet intensity, and petit verdot exoticism, gracefully validating the rule that the sum can be greater than the parts. Compared to other Super Tuscans, Oreno will always be distinguished by its roundness, silky texture, and forward personality, ie drinkability. It will also always be amongst the greatest values. It is important to add only that early drinkability does not preclude age worthiness: balanced young wine begets balanced old wine!
As of 2012 the winery has introduced a new flagship wine. Vigna dell’ Impero hails from a single vineyard first planted in 1935 with additional planting in the 1950s from cuttings of the original 1935 mother vines. This wine is a brilliant representation of old vine, indigenous Sangiovese.