Poggio Torselli the new course guardian of a centuries-old history

Poggio Torselli inaugurates a new oenological course in Chianti Classico , adopting sustainable agriculture that respects the balance of the territory and the people who live there. Witness of the change is the 2017 vintage , the first made under the guidance of the oenologist Eduardo Colapinto . The history of the fifteenth-century estate is enriched over the centuries: several families of the Tuscan nobility follow one another, including the Machiavelli , the Strozzi and the Antinori, and it is the refreshment of illustrious personalities such as Pope Pius VII and the Tsar of Russia Paolo I. Since 1999 Poggio Torselli is owned by the Zamparini family. Always passionate about agriculture, Laura Giordani and her husband Maurizio see the great potential of the place, although at the time of purchase the Villa, the garden, the park, the olive groves and the vineyards pour into a state of abandonment. From 1999 to 2002, impressive conservative restoration works were carried out , in particular of the Italian garden . The refurbishment of the vineyards and the replanting lasted until 2005. Between 2003 and 2004 the cellar was built, where in 2003 the first harvest was made. In the early years, wine was a side business of the Estate, a typical and artisan product of the place to be offered to tourists visiting the Poggio. The real enological turning point takes place in 2017 when the oenologist Eduardo Colapinto enters the winery. Graduated from the Faculty of Agriculture in Udine, in 2011 Eduardo packs his bags and leaves for an “Erasmus in the world”, between Argentina, New Zealand and, having returned to Italy, a period alongside Jŏsko Gravner in Oslavia. The meeting in 2016 with the Zamparini family reveals a great professional harmony and brings out a common goal: to create exclusive products in limited quantities to be presented to customers in a unique style, with attention to the smallest details. This is reflected in the meticulous work in the cellar, aimed at obtaining wines with minimal human intervention and of high quality, setting the activities as a support to the work that nature itself does every season, in order to achieve and maintain its balance. Hence the choice of using organic and biodynamic farming techniques combined with a holistic approach to the vine, which is not seen as a plant detached from its context but as a member of a larger living organism. The identity of the fruit is respected without any addition , except for a minimum amount of sulphites. As for the fermentation process, this happens exclusively thanks to indigenous yeasts . The wine also rests for a long time on the lees, so as to increase its softness and complexity. The prolonged stay carries out a protective function of the wine, allowing to further reduce the use of sulfur. Even the use of wood is not very invasive, preferring large barrels or barriques used to bring out the original character of the grape. The Poggio Torselli estate has 24 hectares of vineyards, most of which are planted with Sangiovese and a small part with white grapes, divided between chardonnay, sauvignon and aromatic traminer. The 2019 vintage produced a total of about 50,000 bottles, divided into three IGT Toscana - Bizzarria white , red and rosé - and three Chianti Classico DOCGs : the Classico, the Riserva and the Gran Selezione, respectively aged for 12, 24 and 30 months as required by the regulations.