"Castagnino" is the younger, yet equally beloved and cared-for sibling of our flagship wine (Il Castagno). It is made (like all our wines) exclusively from Syrah grapes grown in our Cortona vineyards, all of which yield very low amounts per hectare (a maximum of 5,000 quintals from 5,000 vines). They are rigorously selected throughout the year, particularly before and during the harvest (which takes place in the first half of September, usually slightly earlier than that for Il Castagno and Cuculaia), and harvested exclusively by hand into small, perforated 15-kg crates.

"Castagnino"

The grapes are destemmed, leaving the berries intact, and transferred to temperature-controlled steel tanks, where, thanks to native yeasts, alcoholic fermentation occurs spontaneously. Depending on the vintage and the quality of the grapes from each individual vineyard parcel (all of which we vinify separately, according to different, customized schedules and methods), a variable percentage of grapes may be processed whole bunches. The subsequent maceration of the skins lasts, on average, about one to two weeks, again depending on the quality of the grapes. Malolactic fermentation (of the free-run must only, as the wine obtained from pressing the pomace is never used to make our wines) also occurs spontaneously, without the addition of bacteria. A brief period of aging (about six months) on the fine lees follows, in our old concrete barrels, carefully restored by artisan friends. "Castagnino" was born from my desire to fully explore the potential of the Syrah grape in Cortona, expressing it in all its diverse expressions; In this case, we wanted to produce a Syrah with completely different characteristics from the company's main wine (Il Castagno, its "big brother") and our Cuculaia cru. For this reason, the grapes are harvested slightly earlier than those used to produce our other red Syrahs (in this wine, freshness and acidity are more important to us than strength and concentration of sugars and extracts), and the "Castagnino" does not mature in wooden barrels, but only in concrete vats.