Tuscany is where ‘my journey’ really began and just a few weeks ago, in May, we visited Florence for a few days and took the opportunity to venture into the surrounding countryside of Chianti and indulged our burgeoning passion for touring vineyards and tasting wine (again, with my old friend Tuscan Wine Tours). Not only did we have a fabulous lunch at the famous butcher’s shop in Panzano, Macelleria Cecchini, we visited two vineyards in the Chianti and Chianti Classico regions, Corzano e Paterno and Querceto di Castellina respectively. Not only does Corzane e Paterno produce fabulous wine, it also produces many varieties of delicious pecorino cheese that we were able to taste along with the wine (and their olive oil too).
At Corzano e Paterno we tasted a great cross section of wines. We began with Il Corzanello Bianco, a 2016 Toscana IGT Bianco. It is made from a blend of chardonnay, petit manseng, semillion, sauvignon blanc, trebbiano and malvasia, it is pale in colour, citrusy and truly refreshing (very welcome in the heat we were experiencing!). Next we tasted the unusually named 1 Tre Borri, a 2009 Chianti Riserva, made from 100% sangiovese. This was a spicy red, dark cherry on the palate with a sleek finish. We then tasted Il Corzano, a 2013 Toscana IGT Rosso, made from a blend of cabernet sauvignon, sangiovese and merlot. This wine is aged in barriques for 24 months of which 40% are new oak. The result is a superb wine giving black fruit, earthiness and spice, together with some oak thanks to its ageing process. Last, but by no means least, we tasted Terre di Corzano, a 2014 Chianti DOCG made from 90% sangiovese and 10% canaiolo aged in oak barrels for 12 months. A lighter fresher wine than the previous two we tasted but rich in red fruit and very smooth on the palate.
From here we ventured to the Chianti Classico region and, in particular, Querceto di Castellina. We were welcomed with a glass of rose, an unusual sight in Tuscany but very welcome in the afternoon heat! Furtivo was light and dry and very fresh – just what we needed. We were treated to a visit to the cellars which was followed by a tasting in the shade in a glorious covered terrazzo with views over the vineyards and the beautiful Tuscan countryside beyond. As well as being offered more Furtivo we tasted the following wines. L’aura, a Chianti Classico DOCG made from 100% sangiovese. This was classic Chianti Classico, medium bodied, red, fruity and a little floral. Delicious! We then had Podalirio, a Toscana Merlot IGT (100% merlot). Unsurprisingly it was heavier on the slightly darker fruit of blackberry and black cherry and had well balanced tannins. Finally, we tasted Sei, a Chianti Classico DOCG made from sangiovese (90%) and merlot (10%); this producer’s flagship wine. It was deep ruby red in colour and was a blend of red fruit and spice on the palate.
This was a fantastic day out, reminding me of the quality and diversity of the wines from this region, and it has inspired us to plan a trip back, next year, with a view to seeing a lot more of the Tuscan producers (and possibly producers in some of the neighbouring regions such as Le Marche) and tasting their wine (and olive oil and cheese!).