Querciabella steps up Sangiovese project

Querciabella has leased 25 hectares in Chianti Classico to further its plan to produce single-vineyard Sangioveses from the region.

The land was acquired from San Polo in Rosso, and Querciabella’s said the new plots bring it a “significant step closer to realising its most ambitious project to date.”

The producer hopes to highlight soil diversity within Chianti Classico using a microvinification regime in which fermentation and barrel maturation are carried out on a lot-by-lot basis, before bottling the results as a series of single vineyard “crus”.

Speaking of the project, Querciabella’s technical director Dales D’Alessandro said, “While Sangiovese has always been the fulcrum of the Chianti Classico zone, the grape variety is extremely sensitive to the specific environment in which it grows.”

Continuing he stressed the importance of the new acquisition, “San Polo is one of the area’s few sub-zones that possesses all of the quintessential climate and soil features that are vital in obtaining Sangiovese with finesse, elegance and structure.”

Located in the winemaking commune of Gaiole in Chianti, San Polo is known as the birthplace of the super Tuscan Cetinaia.

“It took us nearly six years to locate the perfect place for our expansion,” added D’Alessandro, “but the moment we stepped onto this land, we recognized that San Polo is a magical place.”

News of Querciabella’s project follows an event on 12 June designed to draw attention to the quality potential of pure Sangiovese wines from Tuscany.

As previously reported, the grape was deemed “moody”, but capable of producing beautiful wines when handled correctly, particularly when low-vigour clones are matched to dry, exposed slopes and calcium-rich rocky soils.

Querciabella owns 74 hectares of biodynamic vineyards in Chianti Classico (Greve, Panzano, Radda and Gaiole in Chianti) as well as 32 hectares in coastal Maremma.

The estate produces Batàr, Camartina, Palafreno, Querciabella Chianti Classico and Mongrana.