The Tuscan winemaker calls the hard, barren and hard-to-work soils “i sodi”. Here, the vine must fight for water and food. In contrast to the “campi”, the fields, the “sodi” produces the densest and most refined wines. Paolo Panerai has planted the small-berry original Sangiovese and the equally native Malvasia Nera (15%) in his best locations. The latter has disappeared in many places due to its small yields. It contributes to a wine that is hard to beat in terms of typicity, exciting breed and annoying power. I Sodi di S. Niccolò was bottled for the first time in 1979. The pressing takes place in steel tanks (18 to 25 days). Depending on the vintage, barrique aging (2/3 new wood) takes 15 to 30 months. The Wine Spectator has repeatedly ranked I Sodi di S. Niccolò among the 100 best wines.