The estate’s core wine is the Chianti Terre di Corzano, which translates as ‘soils of Corzano’. It’s a blend of 90% Sangiovese co-fermented with 10% Canaiolo, all hand-harvested from Corzano’s rocky, south-facing slopes. The soils here are what the Italians call alberese—compact clay/limestone littered with pebbles—which tends to yield particularly aromatic reds.
Incorporating 15% whole bunches, the wine was naturally fermented and aged in a combination of 25- and 40-hectolitre botti, a traditional maturation that has become rare in today’s barrique-obsessed Tuscany. Arianna Gelpke enjoys the softening impact of large-format wood on Sangiovese tannins, and we can only agree.
From an outstanding vintage, Corzano’s transparent style, emphasising purity of fruit, is in full flight. It’s bursting with the essence of hillside Sangiovese, with fresh cherry and berry aromas and a refined and silky palate perfectly framed by cooling bergamot tang and feathery tannins. The Canaiolo brings a dab of spice to the palette of cherry, liquorice and woodland complexity that builds to a juicy finish. It’s welcoming right down to the final swallow; a moreish snapshot of the Florentine hills.