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FATTORIA
GIACOMO MARENGO
The estate - Villa 'Le Tornaie' - The cellars |
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ABOUT
VALDICHIANA AREA
(green and fascinating...) |
To the northwest, the province of Arezzo abuts the
Tuscan province of Florence and to the southwest,
that of Siena. These two provinces constitute the
heart of traditional Tuscan wine production. Arezzo
has areas with soils and climatic conditions very
similar to those of the Chianti Classico zone of
Florence and Siena, as well as to those of Siena's
Montepulciano zone. In the late 1990s, the investments
of prestigious wine producing companies, have been
a wake-up call to Arezzo wine producers to reconsider
the potential of their own zone.
The Valdichiana is a lovely area blessed by a mild
climate and its varied and interesting countryside
is completely unspoiled.
The region is marvellously compact and is characterised
by a thermal basin which is among the most important
in Italy. It is far from large urban centres, and
its large forests create a healthy atmosphere which
helps make the area one of the most pollution-free
in Europe. It is also famous for its wonderful bread,
wine and olive oil. The
Valdichiana is the perfect place for visitors
not only because of the beauty of the natural
countryside and the gentleness of the climate
but also for its well-preserved cultural heritage.
This is still alive and present in the museums,
the archaeological ruins, the monuments, the historic
centres, and the countryside itself, all of which
testify to an uninterrupted succession of cultures
: Palaeolithic, Etruscan, Roman, Medieval and
Renaissance.
In addition to this
there is the traditional hospitality of a people
who know how to welcome visitors to this beautiful,
green and fascinating area of Tuscany.
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Quality
awards
(from the heart of Tuscany, a guarantee of
quality...) |
*
WS 90 points: 1997 Chianti Tenuta del Fondatore
La Commenda
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WS 88 points: 1997 Toscana Tenuta del Fondatore
Stroncoli
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WS 85 points: 1997
Chianti Castello di Rapale
*
WS 84 points: 1997
Chianti Le Tornaie
*
WS 86 points: 1998 Toscana Tenuta del Fondatore
Stroncoli
*
R.Parker 90 points: 1997 Chianti Riserva La Commenda
*
R.Parker
91 points:
1997 Stroncoli IGT
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Duemilavini 3 grapes: 1997
Chianti Riserva La Commenda
*
Duemilavini 3 grapes: 1997
Toscana Tenuta del Fondatore Stroncoli
*
Sélections mondiales 2002 Montréal
Mention Découverte: Commenda '97
*
Sélections mondiales 2002 Montréal
Medaille d'Argent: Stroncoli '98
*
1st prize "Vini della Chimera" AIS (Italian
Sommelier Association)
*
International Wine Challenge 2001 Bronze Medal:
Stroncoli
'97
*
International Wine Challenge 2002 Bronze Medal:
Stroncoli
'98
*
1st prize, Premios Zarcillo Oro 2001: La Commenda
'96
*
1st
prize,
Sole di Veronelli 2001:
La Commenda '96
Marengo's wines have
been also reviewed by many specialized Italian
wine press like Veronelli and Gambero Rosso as
"One of the most serious wineries, light-years
far away from number-driven marketing strategies",
"Low production and unbeatable quality"...
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Winemaking
(at Fattoria Giacomo Marengo...) |
Grapes are harvested and selected manually. In case
of bad vintage, producers go up and down their same
vineyards twice or three times, every time searching
for the well ripen bunches. The fermentation for
the red, white and rosé wines is temperature-controlled
so to preserve bouquet and flavours. Once drawn
off and pressed with the pneumatic tool to avoid
the extraction of disgusting tannins from nuts,
red wines are successively refined in oak tanks
and barriques, the most distinctive white wines
are refined in barriques, and the regular white
and the perfect Sangiovese rosé wines are
refined in steel. The bottling is made at the firm.
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Did
you know?
(a glass of history...) |
One interesting occurrence during 18th century reinforces
the Cortona-Valdichiana area's longstanding reputation
for quality white wine production. When phylloxera
devastated French vineyards in the late 1800s, merchants
from Burgundy and Champagne bought white wine from
the Valdichiana area to use as base wines for their
own sparkling wines.
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'Fattoria Giacomo Marengo'
wines genuineness is guaranteed by the rigorously biological
vineyards cultivation (EEC 2078 measure A2).
The firm wines include not only the traditional ones
such as Sangiovese, Trebbiano, black Canaiolo and Malvasia
(whose original clones belong to us) but also those
introduced lately in Tuscany, such as the distinctive
red Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and the white Chardonnay
and Sauvignon. They are all produced according to Guyot's
system.
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| Region
information ... |
Florence's region continues
to advance its position as the nation's most dynamic
producer of premium wines, following decades of
turning out popular Chianti in straw-covered flasks.
Tuscany's modern renaissance in wine began in Chianti,
in the central hills around Siena and Florence,
but it rapidly spread to take in the strip along
the Mediterranean coast that was not previously
noted for vineyards.
Much of the progress has come with classical reds
based on the native Sangiovese vine, Chianti, Brunello
di Montalcino, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano and
Carmignano, all DOCG. But growing success with other
reds (especially the stylish non-DOC wines known
as "Super Tuscans") has been augmented
by new styles of whites to enhance the region's
reputation.
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THE
CHIANTI
(and its history...) |
Although Chianti, as a wine, is linked to a precise
and well-defined geographical area, it is, in fact,
a regional product. As long ago as 1716, a Grand
Ducal Decree extended the production limits beyond
the hilly zone recognized as Chianti. But it was
only in 1932 that a vitivinicultural reality that
had developed in the course of the 19th century
because of the wine's success in Italy and throughout
the world was definitively sanctioned by a ministerial
decree.
Chianti is a wine of extremely ancient origin but
it was only in the Middle Ages that it began to
be identified by the name of the geographical area
in which it was produced. The first evidence of
that transfer of name is contained in the letters
of a noted Prato merchant, Francesco Datini, who
lived from 1383 to 1410. Datini's references indicate
that Chianti had assumed a purely enological significance
by his day.
In the same period, the name
Chianti was often applied to a certain vin vermiglio
(vermilion wine) and a vin de Firenze (wine of
Florence) and not to the wine of Chianti as the
term is commonly understood today. With the intensification
of trade and exports in the 17th century, the
name of the region came to be universally accepted
as the title of the celebrated product of its
soil.
Chianti's early success was
due in great part to the strict enforcement of
the regulations of the League of Chianti. The
league's rules represented a sort of disciplinary
system in embryo. As part of its regulatory mission,
the League categorically prohibited the initiation
of harvesting before September 29 (the feast of
St. Michael).
Following that somewhat mythical
period, the real, verifiable history of Chianti
began in the early 19th century. And a major role
in it was played by Baron Bettino Ricasoli. The
Baron, a member of the Accademia dei Georgofili,
tested and retested various grape mixtures until
he found the right balance. It is the same blend
used today in making Chianti: Sangioveto, Canaiolo,
Trebbiano and Malvasia.
The use of the so-called
governo makes Chianti different from any other
wine in Italy. The method involves the inducement
of a second fermentation, after the wine has been
racked, through the addition of a certain quantity
of must pressed from selected, semi-dried grapes.
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We personnally
choose the best Wines, Extra-virgin Olive Oils, Balsamic Vinegars and Spirits
from small and high quality producers, following only our taste... Discover
them with us...
© 2002, 2003, RED BOTTLE - Italy
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