Casina di Cornia Red Blend Rosso Toscano 2009

In 1979, we discovered the Casina di Cornia farm. Lying on the south-western slopes of the Chianti hills lying between Florence and Siena, it gently looks over the Elsa Valley in the borough of Castellina in Chianti. Here, the beauty of the area and the quality of the land have acted as a backdrop to a centuries-old tradition of know-how connected with the land and its products. Already in 1100, a chapel dedicated to St Romolo is mentioned at Cornia in the parish of St Leonino, a sign that several families of sharecroppers were already active in the area. The farm covers a total area of 24 hectares, 7 of which are set aside for the family-managed vineyards. The deep clay-limestone earth gives full-bodied and tannin-enriched wines. Ever since we started in 1980, we have aimed at quality by selecting and planting choice Sangiovese clones which produce well-structured wines. The only fertiliser we use is manure; after careful study we have managed to totally eliminate copper as an anti-parasite; we use sulphur against oidium and a blend of clay, vegetable extracts and powdered rock against peronospora. We have been "Bio" certified since 1983. To obtain wines that bring out all the body and quality of the grapes, we interfere with the grapes and the wine as little as possible. Work starts with ruthless pruning in order to limits production to between 35 and 45 hectolitres per hectare. The grapes are picked by hand and collected in small crates so that they arrive at the winery in perfect condition. Here, they are immediately Vinified and the temperature and oxygenation of the must is carefully controlled to achieve optimal alcoholic fermentation. We do not use selected yeasts or other additional ingredients as we are convinced, supported by personal experience, that the body and complexity of the wines is promoted more by the natural yeast populations on the grapes. Only at the end of malolactic fermentation is a small amount of sulphur dioxide added, always respecting the rules of organic farming. The wines are not filtered but clarified with egg white. In our quest for quality, we attempt to highlight the effects of seasonal variations in the characteristics of the grapes and valorise these difference every year. This is why we do not correct the musts or the blends. Depending on the quality of the grapes, we follow a strict selection strategy to produce several wines. Read less