I attended another wine tasting at The Fine Wine Source in Livonia, Michigan and the tasting was conducted by Lorenzo and Jennifer Gatteschi of Podere Ciona from Gaiole in Chianti.  I was reading the history of the winery on their website “Franca and Franco Gatteschi were looking for a place in the countryside to retire to, after many years of working in Italy and abroad, when they came across a small, beautiful, albeit run down property: 100 acres of land, mostly wooded with 10 acres set aside for cultivation, of which 2.5 acres already had vineyards; a house from the 18th Century, abandoned for more than 40 years; and, above all, a view without equal on the Chianti hills, with Siena in the distance.”  It really sounds idyllic and makes one ponder how this property was neglected and ignored for years.  “They purchased the estate at the beginning of 1990 and they immediately started the reconstruction work on the main house (it took nearly three years). They also set up a small but well-equipped wine cellar for making wine. In 1996 they permanently moved to live on the estate and the following year, the great 1997 vintage, saw the birth of the first “official” wine of Podere Ciona: A Chianti Classico DOCG Riserva.”

I have met Lorenzo Gatteschi many times at wine tastings, but this was the first time that I had the chance to meet his wife, Jennifer.  In the new part of the shop, they now have a tasting counter, and there is even a computer monitor above to show photos and features of the wines being tasted.  Lorenzo was working one end of the counter and Jennifer was working at the other end, so she had to endure my quirks.  As I started to take my first photo of a glass of wine and the adjacent bottle label, Jennifer surprised me and asked if I was “the Wine Raconteur” as she also handles the social media for the winery.  I was flattered to say the least.  The first wine for the tasting was Podere Ciona Ciona Rosé Toscana IGT 2022.  The Rosé was made entirely of Sangiovese in the saignée method.  The vines are from six to nineteen years of age and planted on quartz, clay schist and marl.  The fruit is manually harvested in small baskets and then de-stemming, berry by berry for a slight crush in Stainless Steel vats for ten to twelve hours of skin contact and no Malolactic Fermentation. The wine is then aged for about six months in Stainless Steel and then further fined and bottle aged for six months before distribution. There were about one hundred-eighty cases produced of this wine.  A pretty salmon-pink color with notes of fruit and spices, just a well-balanced light and easy drinking wine with a nice medium count finish offering terroir.

The next wine poured was Podere Ciona Chianti Classico Riserva 2016. I think that when most people think of Tuscany, their first thoughts are a traditional Chianti Classico and if they can get a Riserva, all that much better. The wine is estate grown on their quartz, clay schist and marl soil.  The wine is a blend of ninety percent Sangiovese, eight percent Merlot and two percent Alicante Bouschet; and the vines are between fifteen and sixteen years of age. The fruit is all hand-harvested and the initial fermentation is for about ten days in Stainless Steel.  Then malolactic fermentation of the juice on the skins is for about a month in French Oak.  With this being a Riserva, the wine is then aged for twenty-four-months in a mix of French Oak of which ten percent are new, and then an additional twelve months in bottles, before being released.  There were about eighteen-hundred six packs of this wine made. This deep ruby-red wine offered notes of plenty of red fruit, bakery aromas and terroir.  On the palate, the cherry and other red fruits were excellent with a refreshing trace of blood orange, it was well balanced and had velvety tannins and a nice lingering finish of chalky terroir.  This bottle will cellar well, and it needs at least an hour to breath before serving.