One of our favorite moments is when we go to the winery to taste directly from the barrels. We do this often to control both the evolution and quality of the wines. There is no fixed recipe for our wines. Every vintage is different, every time we cut the wine there are fari factors to consider. A large part of the skill in making what the French call l’élevage is the ability to understand how a wine will evolve either on its own or blended so that the wine we make is more complex than just the sum of its parts.
Each of these tastings carries a great deal of responsibility. There are wines that are still in infancy and constantly changing so the decisions to be made are not easy. You will understand that it is a job that requires humility because each wine has its own character, with its own future in mind.
Our job is simply to guide it should the need arise, look after it and decide the right time to promote it from the winery. The path we took to launching our first Chianti Classico Riserva, from the moment we decided there was a remarkable batch of grapes to the discovery that we had something really special in the barrel, was really rewarding.
This is what we mean when we say that our winemaking contribution is minimal. It does not mean that we are less careful-rather, the opposite. It means that we allow each wine to speak for itself. We believe that if you work well all year round so that you bring the best grapes possible to the winery, then you just have to ‘get out of the way’ and let the wine become its best without forcing it.
Of course, you have to know the craft-time ago I was told that ‘you have to know a lot to do a little’ in the winery-but we believe that is exactly how you create wines of character and terroir.
