Elena Casadei wins the Tre Bicchieri for the first time with the Cannonau Le Anfore 2021

Commitment, study and passion animate the days of Elena Casadei, who for ten years has dedicated herself to enhancing the best varieties of grapes produced in the three Casedei family companies through the use of amphorae: Castello del Trebbio, Rùfina in Chianti, Tenuta Casadei, in the upper Maremma, and Olianas, in Sardinia, in the Sarcidano lands.

Today, ten years after the start of the “Le Anfore di Elena Casadei” project, the young Tuscan producer begins to reap the fruits of this work and for the first time ever one of her wines enters the circle of the best in Italy for Gambero Red: the Cannonau di Sardegna DOC Le Anfore 2021 is in fact Tre Bicchieri for Guida Vini d'Italia 2024.

“This award - states Elena Casadei - I consider it a recognition of what has been done so far and a further stimulus that fuels my personal interpretation of making wine through the use of amphorae. My goal is to make the most of the vine-terroir combination through an approach that aims to bring out the most expressive characteristics of each individual varietal in an unprecedented way."

Stefano Casadei, Elena's father, during a business trip to Azerbaijan in 2007 discovered and studied the use of amphorae for winemaking and decided to use them in his companies for greater characterization of the wines, in line with the philosophy of Biointegrale®, an ethical approach to quality viticulture, which protects biodiversity and the well-being of nature. In 2013 Elena Casadei decided to create this collection, made up of eight labels that come from the grapes selected in the three companies which are completely vinified and refined in Georgian and Tuscan amphorae from Impruneta.

“Terracotta amphorae fascinated me right from the start, when I was just over 18 and decided to dedicate my professional life to the world of wine ” says Elena Casadei. “ This ancient winemaking technique allows us to best express both the biodiversity heritage and the peculiarities of each variety and the terroir of origin. Every year there is nothing standardized and identical: it is a continuous challenge to extract the best which leads me to continually get back into the game."

The Cannonau di Sardegna DOC Le Anfore 2021 was born in Olianas, from a selection of the best Cannonau grapes coming from a 1.2 hectare vineyard, located between Campidano, Marmilla and Barbagia, composed of clayey-sandy soils of limestone and basaltic origin. The plant, built in 2016, has a density of 5,300 plants per hectare, trained in Guyot. After the manual harvest, the winemaking is carried out completely inside terracotta amphorae of mixed origin, both Georgian and from Impruneta in Tuscany. Fermentation occurs spontaneously with the use of indigenous yeasts: maceration on the skins can last between 30 and 40 days depending on the vintage. The refinement is also carried out for a part, approximately 6 months, in amphora, and for a further 4 months in the bottle before marketing.

“This Cannonau - concludes Elena Casadei - is a real explosion of color and fruit: its Mediterranean notes, the intensity and purity of the spicy and floral nuances, give it a momentum and dynamism of great impact. The sip is enveloping and fresh. It gives great pleasure in the moment, but it is over the long distance that it expresses its best ."