A luxury lie in – weren’t required on the bus till 11.15am! And then a relatively short drive from Siena to the southern part of Chianti Classico, and the village of Castelnuovo Berardenga. Here we visited Fèlsina, another top estate, with vineyards both in the DOCGs of Chianti Classico and Chianti Colli Senesi.
Michele was our host, and he introduced us to the history of the estate – originally constructed in the 18th and 19th centuries, and bought by the Poggiali family in 1966, initially as a hunting lodge. Over time wine took precedence, and the beautiful old stables and chapel now house reception areas and barrel rooms, with a modern winery behind.
He explained that the history of the estate was making wines from their vineyards in Chianti Classico and Chianti Colli Senesi, developing Riservas, then Single Vineyard wines and recently a blend of Sangiovese from both DOCGs (which has to be released as an IGP wine thanks to the rules!). While Chianti Classico is generally considered to have superior rocky soils, in this part of Colli Senesi the upper reaches of the Ombrone river have created pebbly soils that are perfect for vine growing. In the photograph the vineyard beyond the road following the contour of the hill is in Chianti Classico, the winery itself is actually in Colli Senesi.
Walking through the old chapel he explained that their Chianti Classico Berardenga is kept in large oak oval barrels (made in Valdobbiadene in Prosecco country!), each customised to fit between the original columns, with the aim of allowing the wine to evolve without oak influence.
Then into the original cellar where we walked through the older barriques and tonneaux containing their I Sistri Chardonnay (the 2025 vintage still resting on its lees which we could just make out through the transparent side of one of the barrels).
And then into the newer cellar under where their Riservas and Gran Seleziones are maturing in new oak.
Our tour complete we entered the old stable block where a lovely veranda style restaurant was the venue for lunch and our tasting of their wines. This was preceded by a tasting of four single varietal olive oils and their ‘house blend’ (they have 7,000 olive trees and their own press). An education in tasting – progressing from the lighter Pendolino, harvested in September to the voluptuously rich Corriggiolo harvested in November. Quite a few of us left clutching a bottle or two!
Lunch itself was a lovely barley/vegetable starter, followed by cannelloni, accompanied by I Sistri, Chianti Classico Berardenga, the Rancia Gran Selezione, the Fontalloro IGP blend and an older vintage of the Rancia. We also tried a 2016 vintage of their Nero di Nubi, made from Pinot Noir grapes grown in a particularly shady vineyard – definitely not a grape variety I was expecting to find in Tuscany! Everyone had their favourites – mine was the Rancia, a few bottles of this are definitely going to make their way into our cellar. We finished off with their divine Vin Santo with almond and hazelnut cantucci biscuits. Another wine for our cellar!
