Grape blend: 100% Vernaccia di San Gimignano
Aged: 12 months in Tonneaux
Alcohol content: 13.5% vol
Acidity: 5.25 g/l
Residual sugars: 1.40 g/l
In the heart of Castelvecchio Nature Reserve, on the hills around the town of San Gimignano, grows a noble grape so old that it was mentioned in Dante’s “Divine Comedy” – Vernaccia. It’s used to produce a wine that is full-bodied but fresh, with delicate fruity and mineral aromas. The 2022 season – it’s now the norm – was hot and dry, with abundant rainfall only in September. To keep the soil cooler and damper, the green manure plants weren’t dug into the earth but flattened onto the ground, to protect it and also become a natural fertiliser. The bunches picked were pressed straight away at the edge of the field, 100 metres from the vineyard, and the “cream” of the must (the first to flow out) was immediately refrigerated to preserve the grapes’ aromas. In the winery – at La Vialla – after fermentation, the finest lees were kept in suspension with regular bâtonnage in order to ensure the best natural reductive conditions, which preserve the wine’s aromatic complexity. Ageing in tonneaux containing 500 litres gives the Vernaccia a perfect balance between its own structure and that imparted by the tannin of the wood.
Tasting – Colour: golden yellow, brilliant and intense. The nose: vanilla and spicy wood, fine aromas of dried camomile, white fruit, quince and a characteristic note of toasted almond. In the mouth: full and soft, dry but with an acidic vein, sweetened in the finish thanks to the ageing in wood.
Wine and Food Pairing – Typical Mediterranean fish dishes such as salt cod “alla Maremmana”, grilled gilthead bream, steamed shellfish, or even spaghetti “allo scoglio” (with seafood), linguine with basil pesto, or pasta with Asparagina. It’s also excellent with dishes such as warm crostini with pecorino and rosemary, or rabbit with olives and wild fennel.
Awards – Gold Medal and Special Mention Coup de Coeur for the 2021 vintage at the Concours Mondial des Féminalise 2024, Beaune, France – Gold Medal for the 2021 vintage at the Frankfurt International Trophy 2024, Frankfurt, Germany.