~ The Villa and Cantina of Paglierese ~
Fattoria Pagliarese was established in the early 1970s in Castelnuovo Berardenga. Rising to prominence under the guiding hand of Giulio Gambelli, the estate quickly became known for producing wonderful wines. With the global economic downturn during the late 1980s, the winery fell on hard times and was forced to close. The property and vines lay dormant until 1995 when the Poggiali family, owners of Felsina, acquired the estate.
Initially, the Poggiali’s integrated the vineyards and facilities of Pagliarese into their existing wine operations. This remained the case for over 20 years while the family replanted vineyards and conducted blending trials seeking to understand the expression that Sangiovese gave from the Pagliarese estate.
~ The Strada Bianca that leads to Castelnuovo Berardenga ~
After patient experimentation, the Poggiali’s finally decided that 2015 would be the vintage to complete the Pagliarese renaissance. Today the estate spans 65 hectares but only 25 are devoted to vineyards and another 10 to olive trees. Although not officially certified, the estate is farmed organically and the vineyards enjoy southerly exposition 350 meters above sea level. The 2015 vintage saw the release of a Chianti Classico and a Riserva.
The 2015 Pagliarese Chianti Classico Riserva is a medium ruby in the glass that fades to a brick colored rim. Rustic, traditional aromas of crushed berry, tobacco leaf, mushroom and damp earth mark the nose on the wine. On the palate, the wine is at first rather monolithic but plumped up and improved with extended aeration. Cherries, baking spices and dried tobacco present as primary flavors that are backed by rather astringent tannins. Needs time to come together. Vinified in stainless steel, the wine is then aged for 20 months in large oval Slavonian barrels. The wine is then refined in bottle for a minimum of 6 months before release. 90% Sangiovese, 5% Canaiolo and 5% Mammolo. 90 points. Shop around for the best pricing. Find this wine.
~ This is a very nice effort in the 2015 vintage. It will be interesting to watch this estate progress ~
This is a project that will be interesting to follow. In light of my comments here regarding Felsina, I am curious to see how Pagliarese evolves. I will mention that this wine was bottled on the Felsina estate and although I am curious about any involvement Franco Bernabei may have, I was unable to discern any.
Salute!
There is sort of a long delayed reply, but is “rustic” a positive or negative description? I can think of a wine I’ve always thought of as rustic, but I’m afraid to use that word as it might be interpreted as a negative description.
Steve,
In my mind, it can be both. I think it depends on vintage quality and the style of the producer. And, the overall nature of the wines from the DOC being discussed. That last one is a bit harder to pin down but I kind of know it when I come across it. In this sense, it’s mostly positive. I use to reflect that the wine is not polished, not flashy, not smooth. An example of that from Castelnuovo would be the wines from Tenuta di Arceno if that helps make a comparison.
John
Well put, I think good ‘rustic’ wines have a lot of soul, reflect the winemaker and the vineyard; but aren’t (as you put it) flashy. Setriolo CC and CCR are good examples for me. I love them both, but they are never going to be featured in Wine Spectator.