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.75 Liter
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Querciabella Chianti Classico Riserva 1997
Varietal: Sangiovese Blend
Region: Toscana
The Quercibella Chiantis have an impeccable record of consistency and an uncanny balance of hedonism and refinement, something that is particularly notable in the classic 1997 vintage.
About the Producer
If you’re reputed to be an avid fine wine collector with a
concentration in Cristal Champagne, it’s a pretty safe assumption that
your own label is, at a minimum, going to hold its own with those in
your cellar. Indeed, the late Giuseppe Castiglioni, who initially
planted vines as a hobby, soon set about authoring a Super-Tuscan
success story in 1972—restoring an ancient estate, outfitting it with
state-of-the-art equipment and, over time, establishing an elite
winemaking cadre, including winemaker Guido de Santi and famed
consultant and Super-Tuscan specialist Giacomo Tachis. The 26-hectare
estate is presently owned and directed by Castiglioni’s son, Sebastiano
Castiglioni. Querciabella also possesses holdings in the Maremma zone,
where it commenced an experimental project in 2000; the first official
release was Mongrana 2005, a blend of Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon,
and Merlot.
While Querciabella’s story began with its Chianti
Classico—one of the region’s finest expressions and most consistent
performers with respect to both quality and typicity—Castiglioni
desired to figure in a movement that segued directly from an inchoate
state into an international furor. Camartina—the flagship of
Querciabella—was Castiglioni’s first contribution to this dynamic and
historic phenonmenon. Camartina continues to be a defining example of
the Super-Tuscan genre, a position that it’s earned, in no small part,
due to Giacomo Tachis’ involvement. While Sangiovese was the
predominant varietal for the greater part of Camartina’s early career,
the percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon has increased gradually over the
years, with recent vintages favoring Cabernet. The highly sensitive
relationship to vintage conducted by Querciabella has resulted in a
wine with an impeccable record of consistency and an uncanny ability
for projecting hedonism and refinement—a state wherein both virtues
seem to be fully realized yet simultaneously responding to one
another’s modifying influences.
Castiglioni’s follow-up landmark-to-be derived its inspiration from his passion for white Burgundy.
Despite
the lack of precedent for a high-level Tuscan white, Castiglioni set
out to evoke his beloved Burgundy aesthetic. He started off with
circumspection, testing out the terroir with Pinot Blanc and Pinot
Grigio in an 80/20 blend, respectively, named Bâtard-Pinot. Castiglioni
then moved on, reducing Blanc’s contribution and dropping Grigio
altogether to make way for the debut of Chardonnay, complemented by an
abbreviated and highly suggestive new name—Bâtard. Wary of the
opposition that this provocative statement might incur, Castiglioni and
Sebastiano soon compromised, engaging in a clever homophonic exercise
that involved exchanging Bâtard for Batàr, while retaining the former’s
pronunciation. Although the blend has continued to reflect the 1992
split (50/50), its stylistic orientation altered with the 1998 vintage,
when the use of new oak was reduced. This modified approach (50% new
oak and 50% one-year-old oak) brought Batàr within much closer range of
its Burgundian archetype. In order to both honor and tangibly express
the exceptional quality of the1990 vintage, the estate crafted a
special Vin Santo, Orlando, for the first and perhaps last time, as the
winery uprooted its Trebbiano and Malvasia vines in 1991. This historic
production—Orlando (named after Sebastiano’s son)—was crafted through
revered traditional methods: only the best grapes were utilized and the
wine was aged for a ten-year period prior to being bottled.
The
portfolio’s penultimate bottling, Palafreno, debuted with the 2000
vintage, commencing the estate’s participation in Bolgheri’s highly
successful relationship with monovarietal Merlots. Its vinification
regimen entails a fairly lengthy maceration period of 18 days and aging
in 100 percent French oak (60% new and 40% first passage) for
approximately 18 months.
While biodynamics has become something of a
buzz word in today’s wine culture, biodynamic principles have always
been part of Querciabella’s core philosophy. Thus, when the estate
entered into a pure dynamic regimen with the 2000 vintage, it was
merely concluding a process that had been in progress for several
years. |
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