SANGIOVESE: THE SYMBOLIC GRAPE VARIETY OF TUSCAN WINE.
SANGIOVESE REMAINS PAR EXCELLENCE THE AMBASSADOR GRAPE VARIETY OF TUSCANY. VERSATILE, CAPABLE OF EXPRESSING THE TERRITORY IN ITS MANY FACETS, WHICH IS WHY MARIO PICCINI IS DETERMINED NOT TO STOP QUESTIONING HIMSELF ABOUT IT AND ITS FUTURE, ALMOST LIKE A FATHER WITH HIS SON.
Sangiovese has always been synonymous with Tuscany around the world, and for this reason it cannot fail to be at the center of the conversation. A grape variety that is often the backbone of the Tuscan wines produced by the group and that Mario Piccini, patron 1882 wants to continue to enhance: “We cannot not talk about Sangiovese,” says the CEO of Piccini 1882, “The heart of our company is in Tuscany, a region where we juggle the versatility of Sangiovese on a daily basis. With this grape variety, the producer wears the clothes of a father who accompanies his son along his path of growth. The boy can be enticed by amusements and sporting passions to unleash, in the immediate term, his strength and energy, or he can commit to long-term goals, perfecting his education through an academic path, which requires time, patience and dedication. It is up to the parent to show his or her child the way, helping him or her outline the best path. Thus, the producer can enhance the vigor of the Sangiovese, or express in the bottle its refinement that is revealed as the years go by.”
A dialogue, that of Piccini 1882 on Sangiovese that is an integral part of the change of perspective devoted to further improving the quality of the product, with the company capable of organizing a technical team led by two excellences such as Alessandro Barabesi and Pasquale Presutto, respectively at the technical direction of Agricoltori del Chianti Geografico and Fattoria di Valiano. Their presence allows Piccini 1882 to continue to question itself daily about Sangiovese, a grape that in the bottle is capable of fully expressing the terroir from which it comes precisely because of its remarkable tannins, ability to hold good acidity and excellent aging potential.
It is the true backbone of some of the most significant wines produced here, from the more structured Chianti Classico wines of Fattoria di Valiano to the more vertical wines of Geografico in Gaiole to the elegance of Villa al Cortile’s Brunello di Montalcino. “Sangiovese represents the backbone of our reds,” Mario Piccini points out, “which is why it is a grape variety constantly placed under our magnifying glass. We painstakingly study its characteristics to understand its adaptation to different soils and microclimates.”
Alessandro Barabesi
From these grapes comes Contessa di Radda, a selection of Chianti Classico that boasts a long history that began in 1978, and the starting point of the collaboration between Alessandro Barabesi, a young and talented winemaker born in 1987, with Piccini 1882. A relationship that lies at the heart of Geografico’s ambitious rebirth project launched in 2018 with the acquisition by the Piccini family, eager to revive the historic winemaking community of Chianti. The one between Barabesi and the Geografico is a journey that continues to this day, thanks also to the fledgling work of telling the story of the immense wine heritage of the three historic communes of Chianti Classico: Radda, Gaiole and Castellina, formerly called the “Terzieri.”
“With our work in the vineyard and in the cellar we give life to three wines that aim to enhance the precious nuances of Sangiovese. In each of the Terzieri, Sangiovese finds three distinct and exclusive expressions of its exuberant profile, making the Chianti of each territory unique and exceptional. – says the winemaker – The focus, in this case, is on using microvinification techniques alongside non-invasive winemaking practices. Sangiovese has an exuberant soul that can be exalted and enhanced with an operation capable of respecting the profound peculiarities of the three different vineyards, an authentic expression of the relative commune of origin.”
A far-sighted and meticulous work, Barabesi’s, that allowed him to get to be named “Best Winemaker of the Year 2022” by WineMag.it.
Pasquale Presutto
Pasquale Presutto, a winemaker with twenty-five years of experience behind him, now guides the work from the Valiano vineyard with a methodical and determined approach.
What Presutto is putting in place is a small methodological and technological revolution: “We have begun delineating different vineyard parcels, which share unique characteristics, giving each one a nomenclature to facilitate operations in the countryside. – explains the Technical Director-at the same time, we are conducting several experiments in the cellar, choosing woods to age the wines according to type. In addition, we have begun to exercise my personal philosophy related to bottling the wine in a short time, precisely so as not to distort it and to give it the balance necessary to be representative of a territory.”
The Fattoria di Valiano, home to the entire Piccini family, is run by Pasquale entirely organically. Various techniques have been explored over the years with the aim of safeguarding vines by making as few interventions as possible: from green manure to the use of antagonistic insects. Thus, every year in early March, swarms of antagonistic insects are released in the vineyards at the bottom of the valley, where humidity is highest, to naturally combat vine-dangerous pests such as mealybug.
