Ciao Bella, Ciao Bello!

Whenever a customer asks me which wineries they should visit when in Tuscany, my first response invariably includes Selvapiana in Chianti Rufina at or near the top of the list. Why? The wines have great provenance, they are well priced for the quality, they farm using organic viticulture, and the wines taste great!  In addition, the winery property is picture perfect Tuscan, but located in an area - Chianti Rufina - that folks might not be familiar with - cypress trees, vineyards, a beautiful, slightly ramshackle main house, and a modest modern winery building. 

This month, your allocation is for a bottle of their premium bottling 2006 Selvapiana Chianti Rufinia  Bucerchiale, paired with a compare and contrast bottle of their normale 2008 Selvapiana Chianti Rufina.

Chianti Rufina Selvapiana Riserva Bucerchiale:  This 100% Sangiovese from the Bucerchiale Vineyard (an older plot of vineyard planted in original Sangioves clones)is simply a superb wine, with a solid structure and fine tannins. A wine made for long aging as indicated by the bottles in Selvapiana's cellars dating back to 1947 and 48. 

Over a maceration period of 20 to 25 days, the must is pumped over daily. Following malolactic fermentation, it is matured in barriques and medium-sized Frenchoak casks. It is then aged in wood for 15 months and blended together in steel tanks prior to bottling.

92 points Parker:  "The single-vineyard 2006 Chianti Rufina Vigneto Bucerchiale exhibits an attractive combination of ripe, generous fruit wedded to a firm sense of structure that should allow the wine to age gracefully for years. Sweet scents of tobacco, earthiness, leather, licorice and spices add complexity on the powerful close. At the moment, the 2006 Vigneto Bucerchiale remains unyielding but full of promise. The wine continued to improve with air. This is a terrific effort from Selvapiana. Anticipated maturity: 2011-2021."

Chianti Rufina Selvapiana (normale)  90% Sangiovese, 10% Canaiolo.  The grapes are grown in various vineyards covering 40 hectares on the ancient Selvapiana estate, The soil is mostly clay and limestone. The older vines, 31 years old, are planted at a density of 3,200 per hectare and 5,200 per hectare for the younger, 7 year old vines.

Fermentation took place partly in temperature controlled stainless steel tanks and partly in cement.  Maceration lasted 15 days with daily pumping over. The wine was aged for 12 months - 10% was held in stainless steel, 65% in large French oak casks and 25% in barriques. The wine was blended in tank and bottled.

The wine has a lovely perfume of cherries and spiced plums that gives way to a ripe, supple yet elegant fruit on the palate. The acid is nicely moderated, serving to corset the fruit and lift the perfumes on the finish.

88 points Parker: "The 2008 Chianti Rufina is simply delicious.... Flowers, mint, red berries and spices come together beautifully in this elegant, Burgundian Chianti. Selvapiana’s Chianti Rufina is a reliably excellent value in Tuscany. In its very finest vintages the estate’s Chianti Rufina routinely challenges wines costing much more. This is one of the hidden gems in traditionally styled Chianti."

Selvapiana, located in the heart of the Chianti Rufina area of Tuscany, was founded by the Giuntini family in 1827, and is managed today by Silvia and Federico Giuntini Masseti. It is a typical Tuscan estate consisting of the owner's villa, cellars and other historic buildings — now no longer used — including an oil mill, granary and joiner's workshop.

For a long time, Selvapiana was a summer residence for Florentine bishops. It then belonged to a series of Florentine merchant families including the Scalandroni. Purchased in 1827 by Michele Giuntini Selvapiana, the estate now covers an area of 600 acres, of which 100 are devoted to vineyards and 75 to olive trees. Five generations of the Giuntini family have lived on the estate over the years.

The current owner, Francesco Giuntini Antinori, has dedicated a great deal of energy towards restoring the prestige that Chianti Rufina once enjoyed. In recent years, responsibility for running the estate has been taken over by Silvia and Federico Giuntini Masseti. They are sticking to the path forged by Francesco, and continue to work closely with Franco Bernabei, the consultant winemaker at Selvapiana since 1978.

Federico is the son of the ‘fattore’ (estate manager) who worked with the Giuntini family all his life. Federico was born on the estate, as was his sister Silvia, who is also involved in running the business. The estate covers 245 hectares of mixed vineyard and olive groves. In the 80s, not having any heirs, adopted Federico and Silvia, who are continuing his stewardship over the historic property.

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