Podere Casaccia - 'Priscus' - Sangiovese - Tuscany, IT - 2022

@podere.casaccia.sinefelle

Notes from the Winery/Importer

Podere Casaccia Priscus Sangiovese is made exclusively from Sangiovese grapes grown on 50-year-old biodynamic vines. Nestled at around 160 meters above sea level, the vineyards thrive in a mix of clay, silt, and sand soils. We're putting it in the wine club in Feb because it's my damn favorite Tuscan sangiovese, especially at this price point. Straight up emotion in the glass.

Notes on the Producer

"! Doctor turned vigneron making pure bio-d juice from the hills just outside Florence ! certified biodynamic ! All wines- no S ! old school Chianti-co-fermentation of Sangio, Canaiolo + Malvasia Nera ! Roberto is referred to as “Il Dottore”in the natty Italy scene" -Exclamations Courtesy of Soil Expedition, Importer

"Biodynamic Farm
Our “Biodynamic” farm is located on the hills of Scandicci , just a few km from the historic and fascinating city of Florence , it is about 12 hectares of woods, olive trees and vineyards.
The south-east exposure of the vineyards gives the plants a large amount of light that allows excellent phenolic maturation .
Our lands are of ancient viticultural tradition with vines that reach 60 years of age, with
old clones consisting exclusively of native Tuscan vines. These are the typical vineyards of the Tuscan tradition with the different Chianti vines mixed together because they were all vinified together, a tradition that we continue to maintain; from these we have taken the ancient clones of Sangiovese, Canaiolo, and Malvasia Nera and Bianca to replant them in the new vineyards .
The new plants were created with these ancient varieties, very different from the current ones, and from other ancient vines recently rediscovered such as Pugnitello and Foglia Tonda , thus realizing the desire not to bring international varieties to keep alive the tradition and the essence of these places, producing totally natural wines.
How did our biodynamic farm come about?
Roberto Moretti purchased this small property in 1999 and is the result of an ancestral passion for the land and nature, passed down to him by his family of winemaking tradition for generations.
At the time, the idea of ​​becoming a full-fledged winemaker had not yet dawned on him, but his pleasure and passion for the land soon led him to desire to create a biodynamic wine “all his own” that reflected his fervor for manual labor both in the vineyard and in the cellar.
A pure, lively, energetic wine, just like its character and just like the land from which it comes.
In the great and continuous desire for knowledge about everything that concerns wine, the land and nature as a whole, Roberto comes into contact with Biodynamic Viticulture that opens the way to the need and intent of uniting local tradition with the search for the best agronomic production practices that have the utmost respect for the environment. The goal is to obtain, from those ancient and wonderful vines that he had already been caring for for several years, grapes of high quality and great expressive originality, the result of the improvement of the structure of the soil from which the plant draws nourishment together with light and other elements, in full harmony with all the surrounding nature.
Uniting the past with the future
Also from that period is the meeting with Lucia that becomes a further stimulus to the path undertaken that from that moment on will be shared in every aspect.
The production phases, from manual harvesting to bottling, are carried out entirely in the Company with great care. And it is precisely the utmost care and passion that pervade every moment of the work that Roberto and Lucia carry out in person, because it is the direct contact with the land that becomes profound knowledge and makes you have a respectful relationship with nature. And so they prune the plants one by one by hand, spread the biodynamic preparations and sow "a thousand plants" necessary to carry out the green manure, carry out interventions in the vineyard to protect the vine only in a preventive way and with the sole use of small quantities of mine sulfur and copper. Healthy grapes, spontaneous fermentations with indigenous yeasts, no use of pesticides, herbicides, chemical fertilizers. The desire is to produce a wine that is the maximum expression of the territory and the love they have for their land which is a gift on loan to be left healthy and alive for the future.
THE VINEYARDS
All our recently planted vineyards have been made with wooden poles and nylon threads to avoid any electrostatic or chemical pollution from iron and zinc. The drainage systems have been built with the ancient method of stones covered with reeds which guarantees the durability and naturalness of the system.
The old vineyards have not been modified in their structure and retain the system of the time and of the subsequent additions and repairs with concrete, steel and wooden columns giving a particular variegated and ancient appearance.
NATIVE VINES - WE HIGHLIGHT THE BIODIVERSITY OF THE TUSCAN TERRITORY
At Podere Casaccia we have always valued the territory and its peculiarities, its history and its productions, even in the choice of vines, we decided to focus exclusively on native species because they represent the identity of our territory and because we are aware of the enormous quality they offer. The meeting between our native vines and the territory has allowed us to give life to a concrete act, the production of a natural wine, alive, energetic as is its character and as the land from which it is born wants it to be."
-Sinefelle.it