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Piergiorgio Castellani, current director of the estate, heads a century-old family tradition in the iconic landscape that encompasses five Tuscan Estates, which are all part of the Castellani Family. These five estates pay homage to the tremendous history of each and every vineyard. Each one has developed its own well-defined character and a personal history to tell. Few vineyards in the world enjoy this kind of tradition. Castellani's business was established in Montecavoli in 1903 as Alfred with his brother Mario, long-standing wine growers, decided to bottle and sell their own wine instead of providing other wineries with the finest grapes in the area. The most important vineyard was the one in Santa Lucia, in the fertile Arno Valley, where a sprightly and "fit for aging" red wine was produced. Castellani Winery has changed and evolved over the decades, but throughout the years the constant philosophy of the work has remained the same: "The quality of the wine begins in the vineyard." For nearly 20 years now, Castellani, in collaboration with the University of Pisa, has been scouring the countryside in search of indigenous grape varietals. Since ancient time, Italy has served as a sort of open-air nursery for Mediterranean grape varietals. Agronomists agree that there are al least 2,000 indigenous grape varieties in Italy, and about 360 are used to make commercial wines. Currently around 130 different grapes have been identified in Tuscany and registered in the regional gene bank. The noble Tuscan varietal, Sangiovese, is the principal grape here, but also used are the other indigenous traditional grapes such as Canaiolo, Colorino, Malvasia and Trebbiano. The last two, being white, are blended on their own and are no longer used in the red offerings. This is Chianti at its best, which is saying a lot. The earth and leather give way to a bright cherry and engaging spice with a touch of marzipan. Can't miss with a veal chop smothered in porcini mushrooms. January 2012 Limited Series Newsletter (.pdf) Limited Series January 2012 from Wine of the Month Club on Vimeo. |
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