The classic nature of Sangiovese

Capita spesso, in Italia, che privati svolgano un lavoro che sarebbe compito delle istituzioni. È il caso di Davide Bonucci che da anni, con serietà e costanza, porta avanti una sua idea di promozione del sangiovese con una manifestazione - Sangiovese Purosangue - che, nel tempo, è diventata sempre più ricca e che quest'anno è approdata in quella che appare come la sua sede naturale, Siena. La degustazione offre centinaia di vini provenienti dalle principali zone di produzione, divisi per comuni, cioè per territori, e non genericamente per denominazioni. Ne appare un quadro variegato e interessante di questo vitigno che come pochi altri "parla" col suo terroir.

It often happens in Italy that a private citizen does what the institutions should do. A case in point is Davide Bonucci who for years has been promoting his vision of Sangiovese with sincerity and consistency through a tasting event – Purebred Sangiovese – which over the years has become increasingly prolific and this year was held in what could be considered its natural setting: Siena. The tasting offered over 100 wines from leading production areas separated into municipalities, in other words territories, rather than generically by appellation. This produced a diversified and interesting portrait for this varietal that ‘voices’ the terroir as few others can.

This is where I discovered an estate in Val d’Elsa worth looking at: Quercia al Poggio. It has a total of 100 hectares of land, of which 15 are DOCG vineyards, and is situated in the heart of Chianti Classico, in the town of Barberino, on a strip of land at an altitude of some 400m above sea level. The vineyards to the north-northwest have a limestone-clay soil while those to the south-southwest have a schist-sandstone one. The estate is organically farmed and its owners, Michaela and Vittorio Rossi, have from the start, when they acquired it in 1997, sought to create an oasis of environmental sustainability, often working together with the WWF.

Related Products