Our first visit to the beautiful countryside of Tuscany we conveniently found ourselves at the Panzano Wine fair in the heart of Chianti. This was a great opportunity to delve deeper into understanding the Sangiovese grape and the wines of Tuscany, as well as enjoy an al fresco lunch with some suitable Tuscan dishes! It was at this fair that we met the owner of Rignana, Cosimo Gericke, and after tasting his wines we decided we must make a slight detour to visit the winery. Right up in the hills overlooking Greve-In-Chianti and Panzano down a long winding gravel track we found the winery/agriturismo surrounded by beautiful vineyards.
Rignana Estate just outside Panzano In Chianti
It was great to see the winery buzzing as harvest was well under way for the 2014 vintage.
Mid September was the start of the harvest
We passed a group of pickers having their lunch before we headed down into the winery. Rignana’s wines are all produced using their own grapes, mainly Sangiovese as well as Canaiolo, Merlot and Cabernet Franc. The farm has always worked with great respect for the environment, and in 2013 they became fully converted to organic production.
Cosimo keeping and eye on the harvest
Chianti or as we Brits sometimes refer to as ‘Chiantishire’ is in central Italy, between the cities of Florence and Siena. The wines are for the good or bad historically linked to the image of a dumpy bottle enclosed in a straw basket, called a fiasco, with memories of the wine being served in every Italian restaurant and the wine itself being quite rough and ready. Most producers no longer use this presentation method, and this coincided with the quality improving beyond recognition to some of the most hand-crafted, food friendly, delicious wines you will taste today.
Rignana Chianti Classico DOCG !
85% Sangiovese with 15% Canaiolo. The wine spends 12 months in oak barriques. 17,000 bottles are made. The wine is intense ruby red in colour, with aromas of red fruit and blueberries. The wine has deliciously soft tannins with a long finish. The wine truly reflects the terroir and vintage in which the grapes were grown. Match to fresh pasta or cold cuts.
Rignana Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG
85% Sangiovese with a splash of Merlot. The Riserva spends 24 months in new and second year oak barriques. The wine is deep red in colour, it displays notes of blueberries and blackberries as well as subtle vanilla and spice. This is particularly well suited to game such as pheasant, mallard or grouse and hard cheese. (Buy 6 bottles and the wine comes smartly packed in a wooden presentation case, perfect for a gift or addition to a cellar!)
Il Riccio, IGT, 2010
100% Merlot grown on the Rignana Estate, the wine spends 24 months in a new oak tonneaux. The wine is deep purple in colour, it has soft ripe plum notes on the nose with an earthy mineral note as well. Beautifully silky and smooth, it truly reflects the Panzano terroir on which the grapes are grown. This wine would suit made meat dishes such as roast beef or casseroles, but will match very well to mushroom dishes with truffle or porcini. (Buy 6 bottles and the wine comes smartly packed in a wooden presentation case, perfect for a gift or addition to a cellar!)
2013 Classico still in barrel