Cigliano di Sopra Chianti Classico Riserva Vigneto Branca 2021

Why is this Wine so Yummy?

About Cigliano di Sopra

Fattoria Cigliano di Sopra is an historic complex surrounded by 32 hectares of land extending over the hills of Chianti Classico, in the San Casciano area of Val di Pena.

The Cigliano di Sopra estate is situated in the highest part of the Cigliano area and comprises the historic Cigliano Villa, with its centuries-old park, Italian gardens and collection of citrus trees, and three farmhouses, two of which – Casa delle Fiabe and Casa Bulleri – have been converted into agriturismo holiday cottages. Finally, there is the Church of San Zanobi in Casciano, where the owners were married and their children baptised.

The estate’s 32 hectares include eight hectares under vine, from which we get the grapes for our winery, and 17 hectares of olive trees, from which we make our own extra virgin olive oil. The remaining seven hectares are parkland and woods. The historic Cigliano Villa, at the centre of the complex, is home to the owners who maintain and preserve this long-established estate.

I feel like a new benchmark for fine wine is being set by Maddalena Fucile and Matteo Vaccari of Cigliano di Sopra in San Casciano Val di Pesa. These young winemaking colleagues studied enology together in Florence and both worked with Sashi Moorman and Rajat Parr at Domaine de la Côte in California and at other prestigious wine estates in Italy. Winemaking is hands-on and artisanal in the stone underground cellar of Maddalena’s family Tuscan villa. Farming is organic and biodynamic, and I want to underline the sheer excitement I feel for these wines and this promising up-and-coming estate.

Monica Larner, The Wine Advocate

In the Vineyard

In the Winery

Fruit for this Chianti Classico is hand-harvested and hand-sorted to ensure that only the best berries make the cut. Matteo and Maddalena use a light hand in the cellar to allow the terroir to speak for itself.

“[Our motto is] be delicate and let the wine express its own character,”

Matteo Vaccari

Spontaneously fermented in steel tanks. Long pump-overs were executed twice per day during the first half of fermentation, then gradually reduced throughout its duration (approx. 25 days)
Aged for 14 months in large French oak barrels with light racking followed by one month in steel tanks prior to bottling

Where in the World is Cigliano di Sopra?

Cigliano di Sopra is in San Casciano Val de Pesa UGA in the north of Chianti Classico. Visit the Consorzio Vino Chianti Classico site that has an incredible visual resource exploring each UGA.