Villa Calcinaia - 'Vigna Bastignano' - Chianti Classico - 2016

Tuscany, Italy

The vineyard La Fornace was planted in 1975 by the Toti family, sharecroppers who had run the “podere” Le Fornaci from the beginning of the twentieth century. In 1975 the three brothers Natale, Renato and Adolfo decided, in agreement with the owners, to plant just over an hectare of Sangiovese. The ditches were all hand made and as was customary they had to be “as tall as a man.” The American vines were also planted before being grafted after a few years with Sangiovese taken from the other vineyards of Villa Calcinaia. The vineyard has a nice southern exposure and being closer to the river Greve, that in its proximity shows a curve as if the river and the vineyard were trying to touch each other, is characterized by a greater presence of sand in the soil composition. The presence of the typical gray clay though, still used for the production of bricks, not only increases the complexity of the soil composition but also explains the reason for the name La Fornace. The Sangiovese, because of the specific soil texture of La Fornace, is by its nature more similar to those that are made on the right bank of the river Greve and often described as the most “Lamolese” of all the crus of Villa Calcinaia. TASTING NOTES A very fragrant and elegant wine, defined by fine and graceful tannins. FOOD PAIRING Perfect match with fish dishes or some nice goat cheese which is still nowadays made in the “podere” Le Fornaci.