“Campo della Pieve” Vernaccia di San Gimignano DOCG 2024 (BIO)

Il Colombaio di Santa Chiara | Tuscany
Az. Agr. Il Colombaio di S. Chiara | Loc. San Donato 1 | IT 53037 San Gimignano

09730224 · 0,75 l · 36,00 €/l · Price (DE) incl. VAT, excl. Shippingavailable immediately

The Via Francigena was the great pilgrimage route of the Middle Ages, running from Canterbury to Rome. It passed through San Gimignano, and those travelling along it would also stop to rest at the small Romanesque Pieve di San Donato – a church around which a medieval village had once gathered, before time and history caused it to disperse. The church remained. And at some point, the brothers Giampiero and Stefano, together with their father Mario, bought this Pieve and the surrounding land. They set up their first cellar in the old sacristy.

Directly below the Pieve, across 1.5 hectares, grows the Vernaccia grape from which the Campo della Pieve is produced. The soil here is more complex than elsewhere on the estate: Pliocene sands mixed with clay, pebbles and scree alternate with older, cavernous limestone formations – two geological eras in a single vineyard. "Wines that do not fear the passage of time," the estate writes of itself. Here, beneath this church, that is certainly true. The winemaking process continues with the same whole-bunch skin maceration that Il Colombaio uses for all its Vernaccia wines. But then: spontaneous fermentation, no added yeasts. Only concrete tanks. And 18 months' ageing on fine lees – a period that gives the wine a texture and depth that no young Vernaccia can match.

Straw-yellow. Complex and aromatic on the nose, with citrus and floral notes to the fore. On the palate, it is dense and deep, with an elegant, austere character and a long finish. The vineyard lies beneath the pilgrimage route. SUPERIORE.DE

"Perfumed and gently spiced, the 2024 Vernaccia di San Gimignano Campo della Pieve entices with notes of honeydew melon, freshly snipped mint and lime zest. It is seamless and silken in feel, showing a beautiful balance of weight and tension, as crystalline mineral tones and tart orchard fruits cascade across the palate. It finishes nearly salty in character, as the senses salivate and hints of Granny Smith apple taper off. What a beauty." Vinous