Podere Le Ripi Bonsai Rosso di Montalcino DOC 2018

The vine on the label is from a photo taken by Francesco Illy himself. There are two tiny grapes growing on this beautiful vine – one of many, as they are planted just 40 cm apart in the world's most densely planted vineyard. They stay small and produce little fruit because they have so little space – almost as if it were a potted plant. However, their roots grow to over three meters underground to find their nourishment from various geological layers in the soil.

This method, developed by Francesco Illy, goes against all the conventions of viticulture, but results in an extremely elegant wine with wonderful complexity. Illy calls it Bonsai because the very small vines look like Bonsai trees.

If Francesco Illy did not have this ability to dare to do things differently to achieve the extraordinary, his Bonsai vineyard would not exist. With the world's highest plant density of 62,500 vines per hectare, it was a race against time to see if the vines' roots would reach deeper layers of the soil quickly enough to feed themselves. There was not enough space in the upper layers of the soil for the roots to spread because of the many plants. Nobody believed in Francesco's idea, but the fact that he had something right is indisputable today. The bonsai wine is an incredibly intense and complex wine, which will be difficult to achieve with conventional cultivation methods.

It is harvested at the end of September. The grapes are handpicked. The wine is made for 36 months in barriques.