Selvapiana was born in the Middle Ages as a watchtower and defense of the city of Florence to the north, along the valley of the river Sieve.
Transformed into a villa, during the Renaissance it was the summer residence of noble Florentine families and the bishops of Florence. It was purchased in 1826 by Michele Giuntini, a successful Florentine banker and ancestor of the current owner Francesco Giuntini, who led the company from 1957 to 1997. Having always understood the value of the Chianti Rufina area, with stubborn passion he has lavished great energy in its valorisation.
Francesco was among the first in Tuscany to produce wine from Sangiovese grapes alone and to link the company's flagship wine to a specific single vineyard: Bucerchiale. In 1979 he produced the first vintage of Chianti Rufina Riserva Vigneto Bucerchiale. In 1978, he was the first to place his trust in Franco Bernabei, an internationally renowned wine consultant, realizing his great abilities.
Today the property is managed by Silvia and Federico, children of Franco Masseti, farmer in Selvapiana from 1953 to 1990. Silvia and Federico were adopted by Francesco in 1994 to give continuity to their work.
Selvapiana currently has an extension of about 250 hectares of which 58 hectares of vineyards, 36 hectares of olive groves and 140 of woods. The land owned is spread over three municipalities, Rufina, Pelago and Pontassieve.
The hills of Chianti Rufina are located on the slopes of the last foothills of the Apennines. The proximity to the latter profoundly influences the microclimate of the area with cooler summers and a significant difference in temperature between day and night. For this reason the grapes can ripen slowly and manage to achieve a good balance of all the aromatic components of the berry. The wines have good acidity, elegance, silky tannins and a long finish.
Most of the vineyards are around the Villa which also has the function of the company centre. The vineyards bear the names of the old sharecropping farms: Vigneto Bucerchiale, Vigneto Fornace, Vigneto Casanova, Vigneto Pesalova, Vigneto Al Pino. Recently acquired are the San Martino vineyard in Quona-Erchi in the municipality of Pontassieve, the Cerlognole vineyard in the municipality of Rufina, the Pian dè Marroni vineyard also in the municipality of Rufina. Selvapiana is a certified organic farm; initially, in 1990, only the Fornace vineyard was conducted according to the organic cultivation method to which all the vineyards and olive groves were added. Mainly planted with the Frantoio variety, there are about 9,000 olive trees that make up a fantastic heritage and are divided into four zones. Olive grove Podere San Giuseppe and Olive grove Rignella in the municipality of Pelago, Olive grove Casanova in the municipality of Rufina, Olive grove San Martino-Erchi in the municipality of Pontassieve. The new vinification cellar inaugurated with the 2005 harvest allows the grapes to be transformed with the utmost care and naturalness. The vinification takes place in steel tanks and partly in cement tanks recovered from the old cellar. Fermentation (which has taken place without the use of selected yeasts since 1992 and with much lower sulfur additions than in the past) and maceration last for at least 30 days. Aging in wood partly in the historic cellar in the basement of the Villa and partly in the new barrique cellar. Selvapiana preserves all the vintages of Riserva and Riserva Vigneto Bucerchiale produced starting from the 1948 vintage. In addition to being an exciting and fascinating event, a vertical tasting also means retracing the history of Selvapiana and Chianti Rufina. The 1950s and 1960s. These were still the years of sharecropping, the vines, some of which were planted with live stakes, were very old. The harvest always began after 10 October; The grapes were vinified in open chestnut vats and concrete tanks. The wines were aged for five to six years in old chestnut barrels. The 1970s. The end of sharecropping imposed drastic changes in the conduct of the Chianti countryside. The first specialized vineyards, the discovery of chemistry, both to fertilize and to defend the harvest and a deep crisis in the countryside also coincides with some difficult harvests. The harvests of the second half of the seventies show the qualitative rebirth. The 80s. Wines consolidate the desire to produce well and with attention to Sangiovese. In Selvapiana the so-called ameliorative varieties, so fashionable in recent years in Chianti, are not used.THE VINEYARDS.
THE OLIVE GROVES.
The Casanova and Rignella olive groves were planted after the 1985 frost with a density of 550 trees per hectare.THE CELLAR.
HISTORICAL VINTAGES.
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Échezeaux is loyal to its appellation through the finesse of its attack on the palate and its overall balance. But it's also a wine with pronounced acidity, which gives it freshness and structure and bestows upon it a sometimes austere finish.
Hugl Gemischter Satz is made from 50% Grüner Veltliner, 40% Gelber Muskateller and 10% Riesling.
Gemischter Satz" has a long history in Austria. It is a field blend where different grape varieties are picked at the same time and vinified together:
In Vienna, the tradition of planting different and complementary grape varieties together in a vineyard – then harvesting and fermenting them together as well – has survived to the present day as Gemischter Satz. Thanks to the dynamic efforts of ambitious winegrowers, this traditional rarity has grown in stature and recognition to become the calling card of viticulture in Austria’s capital city.
Gemischter Satz is very popular in Vienna’s Heurigen (the Viennese term for wine taverns). Historically, Heurigen were simple places, where vineyard owners would open their doors during wine season to serve glasses of this years wine and juices to guests. At most, a plate of cold meats and cheese could be served along with the delicious wine.
For the traditional wines of Wiener Gemischter Satz - the planting of different grape varieties together in one vineyard - a unique style profile has been developed; a style that reflects the wine's origin-typical aromas and flavours. The regulation for the Wiener Gemischter Satz DAC requires that at least three white quality wine varieties must be planted together in one vineyard that is listed in the Viennese vineyard register as Wiener Gemischter Satz. The highest portion of one grape variety must be no more than 50%; the third highest portion must be at least 10%. Wines without vineyard indication must be dry and without any prominent wood flavour. The Wiener Gemischter Satz DAC can be marketed with an indication of vineyard site also. Single vineyard wines do not necessarily have to correspond with the “dry” taste indication, and they cannot be released for sale prior to March 1st of the year following the harvest. Minimum alcohol % of 12.5%.
Adds an enthusiastic Herbert Schilling, head of Vienna's Regional Wine Committee: “With the Wiener Gemischter Satz DAC, we've achieved a milestone in the consistent, years-long quality policy for wine growing in Vienna. The new regulations sharpen the origin profile of Wiener Gemischter Satz and, at the same time, reflect Vienna´s diversity in the glass.”