Querciabella is one of Tuscany’s best wineries, continually raising the bar and producing some of the region’s most celebrated wines. Their 100% Sangiovese 2019 Chianti Classico and 2018 Riserva received top honours in the 2022 Chianti Classico report by Walter Speller of JancisRobinson.com. South African winemaker Manfred Ing has been cellar master at Querciabella for over a decade, and he has once again ‘crafted wines of notable purity, transparency and energy,’ enthuses Antonio Galloni of Vinous.
We were fortunate enough to visit the property last weekend, giving us even more respect and love for their philosophy and wines. The newly released 2019 Chianti Classico‘is a portrait of clarity and depth’, says Decanter’s Michaela Morris, and ‘a real beauty’ (JancisRobinson.com). The 2018 Chianti Classico Riserva is brilliantly structured, elegant and racy. From the estate’s finest Sangiovese parcels in Greve, Radda and Gaiole, it will offer readers ‘two decades of very fine drinking’, notes Galloni.
‘Good news! 2018/19/20 are looking like a trio of great vintages.’ – JancisRobinson.com
Owned by the Castiglioni family since 1974, Querciabella are pioneers of the organic and biodynamic movement in Italy. Today their winemaking practices are fully plant-based and vegan certified, and they have 100 hectares in the most prestigious, high-altitude DOCG appellations of Greve, Radda and Gaiole.
Also on offer is the 2018 Batàr – a complex and layered Chardonnay / Pinot Bianco inspired by the long-ageing wines of Bâtard-Montrachet, and reminiscent of top Burgundian Crus. Giuseppe ‘Pepito’ Castiglioni’s love for Bordeaux and Burgundy have birthed some of Italy’s most iconic Super Tuscans. Don’t rush the 2017 reds, with Galloni advising ‘a few years in bottle to open up’. The Camartina and Turpino 2017 are rich, powerful Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc blends, yet both are exceptionally elegant. Or explore their vibrant value pair of Mongrana Rosso and Bianca from coastal sites in Maremma for only R285 a bottle. View the full range here.
