It is love at first sight, you can only remain enchanted by this territory that despite being so young shows so high skills and competences of all those people who believed in it … and were right. Bolgheri DOC was born only 25 years ago, so in general all the vineyards of the about 55 producers are relatively young; nevertheless brands such as Tenuta San Guido, Ornellaia and Guado al Tasso have defeated every border and are deservedly among the best wine producers in the world.
But my curiosity leads me to look for the names that are less known and maybe more authentic. And even a little by chance, I visited Casa di Terra, a farm that initially produced fruit, vegetables, oil and wine, but then decided to invest everything in wine … and the results are awesome.
The tour of the winery touched the barrel room and completed by a copious wine tasting: from Vermentino to Rosato , to various assemblages such as Moreccio or single-varietals such as Poggio Querciolo 100% Syrah or Mosaico 100% Merlot up to their must, the Maronea, DOC Bolgheri Superiore, assembly of 85% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Cabernet Franc with at least 18 months spent in barrique. This is a “Signor Vino”: very delicate scent of wild berries, currant, enveloping from the first sip, very persistent bouquet on the nose as in the mouth, already prepared and at the same time of great potential, just like the great Bordeaux wines.
But the surprise came at the end: Casa di Terra 2013, the spearhead. This is made by single grape variety of Cabernet Franc and just only for this reason we can imagine how much attention and passion and willingness are transmitted by this family. Cabernet Franc is known to be a vine with harsh tones, rather used in Bordeaux blends at a minimum percentage. Indeed here we are talking about 100% Cabernet Franc with obligatory passage in tonneau. The scent is very interesting, not at all sharp, black berry fruits, but also very high quality leather. In mouth structure lacks slightly, it can only come out with age (it is a young wine) but so huge is its charm that we cannot avoid to go home without it, with the intention of discovering its true identity in next 4-5 years.
A heartfelt thank goes to Letizia (in the picture), a very pleasant and well-prepared guide, and to the oenologist of the winery who showed his willingness to respond to all my most technical curiosities during this memorable visit.
