Our wines

The grapes for this wine are collected intact and placed in steel tanks at controlled temperatures, where thanks to indigenous yeasts, alcoholic fermentation happens spontaneously.

Depending on the characteristics of the vintage and the quality of the grapes, with each parcel being vinified separately, each with its own schedules and methods, some of the grapes may be processed in whole bunches.

The maceration period of the hard skins lasts, on average, from one to two weeks, depending on the qualities inherent in the grapes. The malolactic fermentation of the first-pressed must (we never use the juices obtained from the pressing of the marc for our wines) also takes place spontaneously, without inoculating it with bacteria. There then follows a short period of about six months of refinement on the noble lees in our old cement barrels, which have been finely restored by artisan friends.

Castagnino grew out of the desire to explore the potential of the Syrah grape in Cortona in all its versions. Our goal was to produce a Syrah whose characteristics were entirely different from the most representative wine of the estate, Il Castagno, our “big brother,” and from our cru, Cuculaia. To achieve this, we harvest the grapes a little earlier than the ones we use for our other red Syrahs. Our aim was to craft a wine that focuses on freshness and acidity rather than power and a concentration of sugars and extracts. To this end, Castagnino does not age in wood casks but only in cement barrels.

Both periods, the one spent macerating on the skins and that spent aging in casks and in bottles, are deliberately on the briefer end of the spectrum. The wine's somewhat irreverent and jaunty profile and its disheveled character are exactly what I wanted to achieve - and what I enjoy most about it. And then there are its explosive aromas and crisp tannins… All this goes to show that simplicity, immediacy, and the bare essentials can produce greatness. The nakedness of this Syrah is, to me, fascinating.