In the southern Maremma, nestled between Mediterranean wilderness and fulfilling silence, the Monteti estate creates exceptional wines in harmony with nature, the region, and its people.
Here, Eva Baratta and Javier Pedrazzini bring together their very different life paths – film artistry and diplomacy – united by a shared vision: uncompromising winemaking, deeply rooted in the terroir yet internationally conceived. I speak with the two owners about personal new beginnings, the power of the Maremma soil, and the decision to produce only three characterful wines. A glimpse behind the scenes of a place where craftsmanship, origin, and dedication merge into an impressive whole.
Exclusive interview with Eva Baratta and Javier Pedrazzini
Annett Conrad: Javier, you left behind an impressive diplomatic career and your Argentine homeland to run a winery in the remote south of the Maremma. What was the inner drive behind such a radical decision – and when did you know that winemaking would become more than just a new professional chapter for you?
Javier Pedrazinni: I think the inner drive was the magnetism of Tenuta Monteti‘s project. Every time we visited the winery the sensation was that of experimenting how another possible life could be, a life in contact with nature, interacting with the elements in such an incredible environment. Not just a bucolic life though, but one full of challenges, with a strong pioneristic drive, with the only objective of producing wines at the highest levels in an almost unknown corner of Tuscany. We wouldn’t have left our previous lives if it wasn’t for this combination of breathtaking beauty, great initial vision and extreme difficulties all mixed together. In 2010 I took a gap year to see if all this made sense and soon afterwards I realised the decision was for ever.
Annett Conrad: Eva, you grew up at Monteti but initially pursued a successful career as a documentary filmmaker. What was the decisive moment when you chose to follow in your parents’ footsteps and continue the work at the family estate?
Eva Barrata: I grew up in Rome. And when my parents bought the property and started the Tenuta Monteti project I was living abroad. So they actually didn’t consult me much on their plans. From 2004 on I started to be more and more involved. And in 2010, when my daughter was a toddler, it became clear that the estate was growing and needed the fulltime owner’s eye and hand. I couldn’t actually say whether it was me who chose Tenuta Monteti or whether it was Tenuta Monteti who chose me. May be we need each other.
Annett Conrad: Javier, your winery is known for being deeply rooted in the region while also carrying a strong international influence. How would you describe your personal understanding of the Maremma terroir – and how does your cross-cultural background shape the character of Monteti’s wines?
Javier Pedrazinni: Both Eva and myself love the wildness and archaic character of this territory and our goal has always been that of talking about these landscapes through our wines: the sea, the salt, the rocks, the scrub and the woods, are always part of the palette with which we build our wines. To achieve it at certain levels though, we coincide with our consultant Carlo Ferrini that international varieties were needed, but only if we would take the risk of blending them in a completely personal way. That is why our cuvées are not similar to any other wine. In any case, if there is a contribution of our cross-cultural background it may be this lack of fear of going off the beaten track to enhance local through international and vice-versa.
Annett Conrad: Eva, Monteti deliberately produces only three wines. What is the philosophy behind this focus – and what does it mean to you to express quality through concentration rather than diversity?
Eva Barrata: Our project was very ambitious: landing in an undiscovered terroir and produce just and only top-quality wines. We knew we had to be humble to prove we were right: we had to work hard, do a lot of research both in the field and in the winemaking. We needed to be focused on what really could speak about our terroir at the maximum level and not be distracted by the immediate commercial demand. We started with Monteti and Caburnio first vintages 2004, in 2014 we added TM Rosé. Each one of them has a meaning, tells a particular corner of our landscape. And if any new wine should come up in the future, it will follow the need of telling something new that we discovered about ourselves, in our vineyard.
Annett Conrad: Javier, Monteti’s cuvées are regarded as particularly terroir-driven and precisely crafted. How does a cuvée come to life for you – is it more of an analytical process or an intuitive dialogue with the individual grape varieties and barrels?
Javier Pedrazinni: At Tenuta Monteti the cuvées are the result of a team work, in which four of us sit down in several sessions to compose them. The idea is to put together both the story of the wine with the characteristic of the particular vintage. First we need to answer the question “What do we want to say?” and second “How do we want to say it?” The first question establishes the character of the wine, the second its balance. We make several trials, with changes as small as half a barrique, until we reach a consensus in which all of us recognize the desired “what” and “how”. It is then when a new wine comes alive.
Annett Conrad: Eva, your estate is increasingly opening up to visitors: tastings, tours, personal encounters with the team, blending lessons. What kind of wine experience do you want to offer your guests, and how does it reflect Monteti’s identity?
Eva Barrata: Our hosting is really tailor made, we want people who come and visit us to take their time, relax but also focus on the peculiarity of what we are and do. Whether you are a wine expert or a tourist hanging around you will get the same opportunity of going deep into our research and have a sense of how much quality and elegance in wines rely on details and small choices you make throughout the process.
Annett Conrad: Javier, one of your unique offerings is the opportunity for visitors to create their own personal cuvée. What makes this experience so special – and what reactions or stories have stayed with you?
Javier Pedrazinni: The “Tour & Taste & Blend” is a unique activity we offer for a limited number of participants and according to the winery working calendar, as it requires the presence of our oenologist. It gives the extraordinary opportunity of discovering the implications of making blending choices and how even minimum changes can determine one or other result. People love it and always have great fun.
Annett Conrad: Eva and Javier, looking ahead: What is your vision for Monteti in the coming years – both regarding the wines themselves and the role the estate aims to play within the Maremma region?
Eva & Javier: In all these years Tenuta Monteti has built the reputation of being a very consistent wine estate through quality, elegance, identity and sustainability.
The trust of the consumers is the most important asset, and in spite of many difficulties, whether climatic or geopolitical, or due to change in wine consumption, we have never compromised on that and we’ll never do.
Our research will be focused on experimenting new agronomic solutions to help the vines to adapt to this new unpredictable climate, to get the best from the plants doing even less. As to the winemaking we have in the cellar some very interesting vintages ageing that reveal more definition and elegance. This is what we will be offering in the coming years. The new challenge at our latitude will be getting ripeness in flavours but contained alcohol. Maintaining the extraordinary longevity of our wines.
Tenuta Monteti arrived in Maremma as a pioneer, today we face the future with the same spirit.
My sincere thanks to Eva and Javier for their insightful answers. Anyone wishing to learn more about Tenuta Monteti can follow this link: Tenuta Monteti – Die leise Revolution aus der Maremma
Further information
Tenuta Monteti
Strada della Sgrilla 6
58011 Capalbio (Grosseto)
Tuscany / Italy
