Perched on one of the gentle hills of Tuscany, at the southern tip of the Chianti Classico region, is the magnificent property of the Fattoria di Felsina. From the top of the 90 hectares of vineyards, if you lose your gaze, you can see the Maremma area and the village of Montalcino and, in the distance, the sea.
In Roman times, the Felsina estate was already listed as a resting place, a refreshment station, already playing its current role where meetings and tasting of delicious food and wine are possible. Later, transformed into a farmhouse by the Grand Dukes of Tuscany, cultivating olive trees and vineyards, the Fattoria di Felsina has kept the traces of that time thanks to the recent discovery of an underground cellar, used today for maturing wine. In the 1900s, the Buzatti family, Florentine nobles, bottled the wine produced in Felsina and built the present eighteenth-century building, the chapel and the winery. In 1966, Domenico Poggiali, later joined by his brother Guiseppe and then his nephew Giovanni, bought the property, driven by a visionary impulse and a desire to bring the wines of his land to the summit of international renown. Tuscan and Italian wines, at that time, were still struggling for survival and it was difficult to imagine the future. The Fattoria di Felsina succeeded in its challenge, relying on a total overhaul of the facilities, the enthusiasm of a young and dynamic team and, above all, the new possibility of producing Chianti made from 100% Sangiovese (prohibited by the DOCG until the early 1980s), and has been one of the great wines of Tuscany for some thirty years. Since 1983, its Chianti has been produced only from pure Sangiovese and in 2005, Felsina was elected "Best Estate of the Year"! Since the 1970s, Giuseppe Mazzocolin, technical director of the Fattoria and elected "Winemaker of the Year" in 2010, assisted by the oenologist Franco Bernabei, has raised the level of Felsina wines to the quality to which its owners aspired. Convinced that the Sangiovese grape variety can still reveal treasures, they work every year with the same high standards.
Rocky and made up of calcareous clay and sandy layers, the soil of Felsina is the ideal soil for the Sangiovese grape variety. Vinified with great respect for the environment, avoiding excesses, favouring biodynamics while combining the most modern techniques concerning the installations, Chianti has been certified by the ICEA (Institute for Ethical and Environmental Certification) since March 2015.
The Fattoria di Felsina produces Chianti Classico Berardenga, Chianti Rancia and Fontalloro, all three 100% Sangiovese.
Chianti Classico is sumptuous, with notes of raspberries and cherries. Its tennins are structured and its texture is juicy. On the palate, a hint of minerality counterbalances the exuberant freshness of the fruit. Pair it with a meat dish in sauce or a succulent pasta dish and it will be ideal.
