We tasted nine vintages of Castello del Terriccio, the Syrah and Petit Verdot blend from the winery already famous for Lupicaia. We end with a surprise: a preview of Gian Annibale 2019, the second vintage of the wine dedicated to the man who created the winery.
Castello del Terriccio is the name of a winery but also of one of its wines, just as is the case with Bordeaux Chateaus. The farm is located on the northern edge of the Maremma and is very large, about 1,500 hectares, which is more than the area of Rome within the walls, which was 1420 hectares. Of this large area, about half is covered by forest, then there are 300 hectares of arable land, 200 hectares of pastureland with two limousin herds each with its own bull and two streams running through the fences, 40 hectares of olive groves, about 8,000 trees, and finally 60 hectares in vineyards.
The property belongs to Vittorio Piozzo di Rosignano Rossi of Medelana, whose family had come into possession of the estate in 1921, bringing greater agricultural consciousness to the area that until then was a latifundium estate with few crops. Until the 1960s there were 60 sharecropper families and a hamlet complete with a school and church. With the end of sharecropping, some tenant farmers remained on the farm and their descendants still work at Terriccio. Currently there is a plan to bring the old farmhouses back to life, and various facilities are opening up to tourism. The first step was the renovation of the old carpentry shop turned into the Terraforte restaurant with Cristiano Tomei, a Michelin-starred chef.
Castello del Terriccio came after the estate reds Tassinaia and Lupicaia: its first vintage was 2000. The idea had come from seeing how well they came to those lands the Syrah, perhaps by virtue of a climate similar to that of the Rhone Valley, the ancient Roman province then Provence, and also the Petit Verdot. Almost disappeared in Bordeaux where there were problems with phenolic ripening, too cold, instead in the Mediterranean zone it ripens well. A very pleasant blend, with the Petit Verdot reinforcing the Syrah characteristics in spice and giving anthocyanic richness as well as structure.
All the wines are thus a blend of Syrah and Petit Verdot in slightly different percentages depending on the vintage. After manual selection on the sorting table, the grapes are gently destemmed and pressed, taking care not to break the skin of the berries. Alcoholic fermentation takes place in temperature-controlled open-cap stainless steel winemakers, with maceration of the grapes, for about 20 days. Maturation takes place in first- and second-passage French oak tonneaux for a period of about 22 months, after which the wine is blended and bottled.
As is our custom, we did the vertical from the oldest vintage, to prevent the youthful gallivanting from covering the elegance of the older vintages.
We conclude with an absolute preview: the
Toscana Rosso Gian Annibale 2019
, the wine Vittorio Piozzo dedicated to his uncle, who preceded him at the helm of the winery. Click on the name to open the wine sheet. At this link you will find the presentation of the first vintage, 2018.
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At the following link you can listen to Daniele Cernilli’s tasting on our YouTube channel:
Daniele Cernilli talks about a great Tuscan wine from Castello del Terriccio
