Castell'in Villa· Castelnuovo Berardenga
About the domain.
Few estates in Chianti hold their wines as patiently as Castell'in Villa. The library releases I import, a 2006 Riserva, a 2000 still vibrant at a quarter-century, are proof of a conviction the Principessa Coralia Pignatelli della Leonessa has held since 1968: that Sangiovese, given time, becomes something other names never let it become.
Fifty-four hectares in Castelnuovo Berardenga, the warm southeastern shoulder of Chianti Classico, on galestro, alberese and clay between 350 and 450 metres. No new oak, ever. Nothing to flatter the fruit, nothing to hurry it.
This is the most uncompromising house I carry from this corner of Tuscany. The Poggio delle Rose Riserva is, to my taste, among the finest aged Sangiovese leaving Italy, and I allocate it accordingly.
Mature, transparent.
100% Sangiovese. Dried herbs, leather, tea, iron. The tannin has resolved completely. Drinking perfectly.
Deep, evolved.
The Poggio delle Rose. Tobacco, earth, dried cherry. Library release. One of the finest Chianti Riservas I have imported.
Ancient, alive.
Twenty-six years old and still vibrant. Terracotta, dried flowers, umami. Proof that Sangiovese ages.