Fèlsina ‘Fontalloro’ IGT 2017

Why is this Wine so Yummy?

This is a gorgeous set of wines from Fèlsina. The range is full of highlights, starting with the 2018 Chianti Colli Senesi, which is especially refined and a fabulous value. Fèlsina fans will find much to like in the 2017s as well. As always, the wines are deep and rich, with that distinct element of wildness that is so characteristic of the Sangioveses of Castelnuovo Berardenga. Even after all these years, Giovanni Poggiali and Giuseppe Mazzocolin, with their team, craft wines of distinction and elegance.

Antonio Galloni

Fontalloro is the most representative expression of Fèlsina’s Sangiovese. Fontalloro grapes come from vineyards straddling the border between Chianti Classico and the Chianti Colli Senesi denomination. The vineyards lying within the Chianti Classico appellation are in the highest area of Fèlsina while those in the Chianti Colli Senesi are lower down (407-330 meters above sea level). With a southwestern exposure, the grapes are influenced by diverse soil compositions: on the Chianti Classico side the soil is stony and calcareous; on the Crete Senesi side the soil is sandy, loamy and silty with pebbles and marine sediments. First vintage 1983.

• 100% Sangiovese, first made in 1983
• From three vineyards: Poggio al Sole in Chianti Classico and Casalino and Arcidossino vineyards in Chianti Colli Senesi, hence the IGT designation.
• The soil in Colli Senesi is predominantly loam and sand.
• Productions: 3335 cases

About Fèlsina

Fèlsina hits the short list of so many when it comes to quality Chianti. Of the thousands of producers in the region it’s 1 of just 27 wineries in Walter Speller’s classification and exploration of the challenges of the fragmented classification of Chianti & Chianti Classico is well worth a read.

Once the farm of the Grand Dukes of Tuscany, Fèlsina was mostly olive groves, with just a few hectares dedicated to viticulture. The original wine cellar was small, but in early 1900 had already begun bottling, under the direction of a noble Florentine family Busatti, who gave the current eighteenth-century appearance to the villa, the church and other buildings of the court.

In the Vineyard

Now certified organic, Fèlsina boats a variety of climates, landscapes, and terrains, its various vineyard characterized by diverse soils and microclimates, each unique in its individual qualities.

Fèlsina’s Sangiovese – or Sangioveto, the original Tuscan word – takes its birth from his extraordinary variety, a combination of variables-different soils and clones-that constitutes a distinctive heritage to hand down to future generation.
For this reason, starting in 1983 we initiated, together with Franco Bernabei, a programme of massali selection that has allowed us to preserve an important patrimony of different Sangioveses crus – cultivated here through lengthy efforts and much research.

That marriage of grape variety and terroir is an inseparable element of both the past and future of Fèlsina. A further important factor is that since 1993 Giovanni Poggiali has been replacing vineyards and planting new ones, deepening our research into Sangiovese, as a consequence of an increased awareness by the family and its colleagues that terroir is, of course, conditioned by geology, but it is even more profoundly a social constructer. In this sense, the preservation and further development of Sangiovese is the leitmotif of a commitment the illuminates the concept of tradition.

In this context, the cultural-agricultural choice to produce Sangiovese is not only ideological, but justified by knowledge gained through in-depth work experience and experimentation, in which the pairing of vine and terrain is a critical requirement.

Winemaking

After the quality-selected clusters are de-stemmed and pressed, the must is fermented and macerated in stainless steel for 16-20 days at 28°C and 30°C, with programmed punchdowns and daily pumpovers. In March-April, the new wine goes into new French oak barrels; after 18-20 months of maturation, the final blend is assembled, bottled, and ages in glass a minimum of 6-8 months.

About Sangiovese

Sangiovese a red Italian wine grape variety that derives its name from the Latin sanguis Jovis, “the blood of Jupiter”. It can be extremely vigourous producing leaves the size of your head and bunches of similar size with large berries.

Where is it grown?

It’s grown throughout Tuscany in the sub-regions that make up the Chianti DOCG, where the Sangiovese Piccolo is the dominant version. Plantings in Montalcino making Brunello are typically of the Sangiovese Grosso version. We use the term version as there is some funky DNA floating around that doesn’t neatly fit into Variety or Clone. It’s a case of same same but different. You’ll find it in Sicily, Calbria and splashes around the world.

What does it taste like?

Generally lighter in colour, although as always there are exceptions.

There is an incredibly diverse array of flavours and aromas across the wines made from Sangiovese. This is true across both Chianti and Brunello wines. In Chianti this is influenced by blending with the native Canaiolo, and French varietes like Syrah and Merlot  You’ll find fresh flavours like sour cherry, shifting to dark fruits, earthy characters, florals, rich chocolate, spices and beyond. The perceived density certainly differs across the wine. Like most varieties the styles that can be made are incredibly diverse.

You’ll typically find higher perceived acidity in good Sangiovese.

Where in the World is Fèlsina

Chianti is a sub-region of Tuscany. Other sub-regions include Montalcino and Montepuliciano. Like Montalcino, Chianti covers a large area and is relatively poorly defined in comparison to the likes of Barolo.

As is often the case with Italian wines there is confusion created by an ever changing general classification system. In this case we have wines two basic designation. The first, the Chianti Classico DOCG for which you see a black rooster on the label or neck tie which come from a defined area between Florence and Sienna. The Second Chianti DOCG or greater Chianti region that surrounds the Chianti Classico DOCG which in turn is broken up into seven sub-regions as seen in the second map below.

Fèlsina is located on the southeast edge of the Chianti Classico appellation, between the last spurs of the Chianti hills and the beginning of the Ombrone valley. The entire Fèlsina estate covers 600 hectares, of which 95 is planted with vines. From a geological viewpoint, Fèlsina is a “frontier land” nestled between the Chianti Classico and Crete Senesi areas, in the direction of Montalcino.