Tuscany in pictures

Last week, db’s Lucy Shaw was lucky enough to be invited to Tuscany for one night only to attend a tasting and dinner hosted by Bordeaux-based wine consultant Denis Dubourdieu at Castello d’Albola in Chianti, owned by Zonin, complete with a landscaped garden and soaring Cypress trees.

Zonin’s president, Gianni Zonin, snapped up Castello d’Albola in 1979, having stumbled across it by chance in a red Fiat 127. The façade of the castle was built in the Renaissance style by the Samminiati family between 1725 and 1739. To the left is a chapel that is still used by the Zonins.

Owned by Prince Giovanni Ginori Conti from 1940 until 1979, Castello d’Albola formed part of Gianni Zonin’s ambition to expand his family business  into Tuscany. At the time, the estate’s buildings and vineyards were in dire need of a makeover, though Zonin saw its potential and bought the property along with its 350 hectares of land.

Today, French consultant Denis Dubourdieu consults for Castello d’Albola, which, in addition to wine produces olive oil, along with a number of other Zonin-owned properties across Italy, including Rocca di Montemassi in Maremma.

Here’s looking at you, kid.

Il Solatio – the stony site at Castello d’Albola where the estate’s 100% Sangiovese of the same name is grown. Perched 580 metres above sea level surrounded by olive groves, the vineyard is formed of both fine-grained limestone and clay-based shale soil, which lend Il Solatio a mineral component.

During db’s visit, Denis Dubourdieu (left) led a tutored tasting alongside Castello d’Albola’s head winemaker Alessandro Gallo. Among the many topics discussed during the tasting was whether old vines led to better wines.

The estate’s underground cellar, built by the Pazzi family, is home to an army of giant barrels made of French and Slavonian oak. The glass stoppers used to show the level of wine in the barrels are said to be based on a design by Italian artist and inventor, Leonardo da Vinci.

The dinner was attended by a mixture of Italian and international press, including Tom Cannavan and Felicity Carter.

Among the culinary highlights at dinner was a dish of ravioli with hazelnuts and shaved black truffles.

With sunsets like this, it’s easy to see why Gianni Zonin fell in love with both the property and the Chianti region.