Visiting
Chianti Classico
Part 7: Castell'in Villa
Website:
www.castellinvilla.com
Castell’in
Villa has a long history spanning back to the 1200s, but its
reputation for wine stems from its current owner: Princess Coralia
Pignatelli della Leonessa. We had dinner with her (although she
didn’t eat), and she was quite insistent that no-one take any
photographs of her, a request I observed. [This is only the second
time someone has refused to let me take their picture: the first was
Tony Brady at Wendouree.]
The
Greek-born Princess Coralia and her husband Riccardo bought the
estate in 1968. ‘We thought we should buy somewhere where we could
retire and put our roots down,’ she explains. At the time,
practically the whole region was for sale. It was just coming out of
the feudal collective system (called mezzandria) and shifting to its more modern system of private
estates. At the time the vineyards were a sort of polyculture, with
wheat being grown in the middle of the vine rows, and pigs, cows and
olive oil also being produced on the farm. ‘People had a fantastic
life,’ she recalls, ‘with large families living together.’
Mezzandria’s demise came towards the end of the 1950s and
continued through the 1960s.
‘I
didn’t even drink wine when I started making it,’ says the
Princess. In 1985, tragedy stuck: her husband Riccardo died, in the
year that all the olive trees burned because of the frosts. ‘I
thought of giving up,’ she recalls, and she sold her house in Rome
straight away. But rather than sell Castell’in Villa, Princess
Coralia decided she’d make a go of it herself. ‘I cut off all
the friends of my husband, came here and tried to survive. I had
wanted to go back to Switzerland, where I grew up, and then I
thought of going to the USA,’ she says. However, her son objected,
because they’d no longer have any roots in Italy. Although
Castell’in Vill had been her husband’s passion, she started
working at the estate in a flurry of busyness, without giving
herself time for thought. The estate wasn’t in brilliant shape at
the time: everything was in need of renovation. ‘The tower was
good, but this place was just used during the hunting season, from
August to November.’ She recalls that, ‘The workers at the time
were fantastic people: they loved what they did, and the earth.
Workers today don’t care less.’
She
now does everything on this 300 hectare estate (with 54 hectares of
vineyard, of which 40 are currently producing because of some
reorganization work), even selling the wine, the only part that she
doesn’t like. She says that she doesn’t like inoculation, so
natural ferments are the goal. She pumps over to submerge the cap,
and malolactic fermentation is done in tank. She doesn’t use many
barriques but instead prefers big casks. The wines here are released
later than is normal and spend 3 years in large oak before bottling.
‘I
have a theory that Sangiovese is a very delicate variety,’ she
explains. ‘Not great, but a charming variety. It is after the
fourth year that it starts showing its best.’ Her Chiantis are
exclusively made with Sangiovese
Of
the 2008 vintage, she says that, ‘The grapes are correct but there
is no emotion in them.’
THE
WINES
Castell’in
Villa Chianti Classico Riserva 2000
Quite
pure with firm spicy fruit (damson, plum and cherry). Fresh and
elegant with good purity to the focused fruit, as well as some spicy
and earthy notes. Bright and savoury. 92/100
Castell’in
Villa Chianti Classico Riserva 1985
Meaty,
spicy, herby nose is slightly sweet with a hint of reduction. Quite
complex and evolved, but some purity here, too. The palate is fresh
and fruit-driven with herby, spicy notes and hints of earth. Good
acidity. A delicious, evolved, complex wine. 93/100
Castell’in
Villa Poggio delle Rose IGT 2003
100%
Sangiovese aged in barriques. Dense and spicy with sweet ripe cherry
fruits and a slightly medicinal edge. There’s a subtle greenness
to this wine. A bit dusty with a drying finish and some earthy
notes. Quite tannic. 89/100
Castell’in
Villa Santacroce IGT 2003
A
50:50 blend of Cabernet and Sangiovese aged in barriques. Smooth,
pure black fruits nose. Quite dense and rich with nice purity and
focus with some spicy density. Very stylish with lovely focus and
smooth structure. 92/100
Castell’in
Villa Chianti Classico Riserva 1977
This
was a year with frost in April that led to naturally low yields.
This was the first time they realized that yields were so important.
Pure, smooth, ripe nose with some earthy hints. The palate is really
pure, fresh and complex with lovely spiciness to the dark fruits.
Brilliant stuff that is evolving beautifully. 95/100
Castell’in
Villa Vin Santo del Chianti Classico 1993
Sweet
and marmaladey with some apricot and spice notes, too. Quite complex
and rich with nice citrussy notes. Long intense and complex. 92/100
CHIANTI
SERIES
Part
1: Introduction
Part
2: Fontodi
Part
3: Castello di Querceto
Part
4: Castello della Paneretta
Part
5: Bibbiano
Part
6: Fattoria di Felsina
Part
7: Castell'in Villa
Part
8: Palazzino
Part
9: Barone Ricasoli
Part
10: Colle Lungo
Part
11: Vicchiomaggio
Wines
tasted 10/08
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