Zisola

The history of the noble Mazzei family is not only closely linked to wine production in Tuscany. The Florentine wine dynasty, which has been active in viticulture for almost 600 years and for 24 generations, also found its unmistakable sense for particularly suitable terroirs in southeastern Sicily. In its third vineyard, after the world-famous Castello di Fonterutoli (Chianti Classico) and the Tenuta Belguardo (Maremma), Zisola, not far from the town of Noto, a UNESCO World Heritage site and famous for its baroque buildings, vineyards in broad bushes alternate with citrus, olive and almond trees.

It is above all thanks to senior boss Lapo Mazzei and his two sons Filippo and Francesco that the family recognised the great potential and added value of this small piece of land in the province of Syracuse, one of the most beautiful and impressive on the island, and selected it for their ambitious project on their tireless quest for new challenges. The Tenuta Zisola has very calcareous skeletal soils. The microclimate is characterized by heat during the day and cold at night, as well as by sea breezes that soften temperature peaks. On the almost 50 hectare large former manor house thrive - without exception grown in the Alberello system - above all Nero d'Avola, the flagship variety of the region of origin, but also in smaller quantities of Cabernet, Syrah and Petit Verdot. Grillo and Catarratto are used as raw materials for the house's only white wine to be produced for the first time in 2014 alongside three red wines.

Marchesi Mazzei, one of the oldest ten family businesses in Italy and one of the most awarded producers in Chianti Classico by wine guides and wine critics, relies on the support of oenologist icon Carlo Ferrini to maintain the vines and work in the cellar. Also in their Sicilian winery the successes were not long in coming. For example, the Zisola 2013 was published by the trade magazine "Wine Spectator" to the list of "Top 100 Wines of 2015" recorded. And Filippo Mazzei was featured by the gourmet journal "gourmets" to "Winemaker of the year 2015" ...and I've chosen the best.

The two idyllically situated cellars of Tenuta Zisola, here called Baglio, are state-of-the-art, so that the grapes can be transformed as gently as possible into high-quality wines. The sanctum of the company, which also produces olive oil and grappa, is equipped with temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks that can hold a total of 1,000 hectolitres. To refine the red wines, cellar master Luca Biffi has around 200 different French oak barriques at his disposal, about half of which are new. SUPERIORE.DE