Tenuta Il Palagio | Sting

Figline-Valdarno is not necessarily the postcard idyll in Tuscany that we all have in mind. This only begins a few kilometres to the southwest behind the next chain of hills, the Colli Fiorentini. The two villages that have grown together are more like the supply centre of the northern Chianti region. You can get everything here. From toothbrushes to tractors. Industry, DIY stores, warehouses, car dealerships and every supermarket chain has a branch here.

No dropout buys a vineyard here? Yes, they do. Twenty years ago, the couple Trudie Styler and Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner, better known as Sting, bought a 16th-century villa here as a summer residence. The idea of using the estate only privately and "providing the family with a healthy, natural environment and wholesome food" has since become much more. Because around 350 hectares of hilly land with olive groves, fruit, fields, meadows and vineyards are not exactly little, even with six children. So they opened the estate partly to visitors and even run an organic shop where you can buy all the products made here, from fresh fruit and vegetables to their own salami and wine. The olive oil, the jams and the excellent honey are now even available at Harrods in London.

Paolo Rossi, the Estate Manager was born and raised in Il Palagio. His family has been here for generations. No one knows the land better than he does. And when you get to know him, you notice how much he loves the land here. You can hardly find a better supervisor for the day-to-day business. Paolo Cacíorgna has gained experience as an Oenologist in France and California, but his love belongs to his home, Tuscany. He is in charge of Il Palagio's biodynamic wine production according to the Steiner method. And in 2020, Riccardo Cotarella, probably Italy's most famous Oenologist, joined the team. A top team that guarantees top biodynamic quality.

Many of the long-established wine producers have always bought grapes from the higher hills south of Florence. Because here, at up to 500m above sea level, there are more meagre, stony soils, but a good water supply. The nearby Arno valley always brings fresh wind and cooler nights. This produces a fine spiciness, juicy fruit and good acidity in the grapes.

The focus is, of course, Sangiovese, which is practically pure in the classic Chianti and is only refined with very few local grape varieties such as Canaiolo and Colorino. In addition, a little Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot are grown, which support the Sangiovese in the top wine "Sister Moon". With this, Il Palagio achieved many awards in recent years, such as the TOP100 at the Winespectator, and made it into the small squad of excellent wines of the exclusive competition "Opera-Wine" at the annual wine fair VinItaly. Trebbiano, Vermentino and Sauvignon round off the range of grape varieties in the white wine segment.

The wines are fermented and aged in the restored historic vaulted cellar. Mainly in old large wooden barrels made of Slavonian oak and a smaller part in barriques made of French wood. Look forward with us to these wonderfully typical and honest Tuscans so completely without glamour factor. SUPERIORE.DE