2017 Querciabella Camartina Toscana IGT

Blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (70%), Sangiovese (30%)

The 2017 vintage is one of the driest on records. The scarcity of rain, a cold winter, and a long, hot summer limited bunches and berries development, but also kept disease pressure low. Thanks to near-perfect autumn conditions, we harvested healthy grapes with vibrant profiles and depth. The high skin-to-juice ratio of the berries and ripe tannins made it a fine start for elegant wines of tension and structure. Harvest dates: September 12–28.

Ruffoli, Greve in Chianti. Casaocci Sud for Cabernet Sauvignon; Montoro, Solatio and Tinamicaio for Sangiovese. With its galestro soils and south-facing exposure, the Casaocci Sud vineyard offers the perfect environment for textbook Cabernet Sauvignon, here refined by lighter, lifted notes. On a cooler slope, Poggerino’s denser soils, richer in clay, typically provide the wine’s structural backbone as well as the intensity and depth required for successful ageing. The Sangiovese grows in selected vineyard blocks ranging from 350 m to 600 m a.s.l. with varying orientation, south to south-west. At lower altitudes, galestro and clay soils impart elegance to the wines while higher up the hill sandstones become prevalent, gifting Sangiovese a juicier vitality.

The extraordinary ageing potential of Carmatina begins to show 6-7 years after harvest. It will continue to evolve for 20 more years.