Tasting Notes
‘Le Riparelle’ is ageworthy, fun and delicious. That’s the name of the vineyard. It means a resting place, a place of repair, and here people rested on a long journey. In fact, the whites are known for ageing here better than the reds. The wine has skin contact for a month, which is the traditional way here. Very small quantities are made. Pretty much a large tub of white and one of red. This is part of a lovely movement of youth who are resetting Tuscany back towards small producers. They are very new wave in terms of mindset. Made by three childhood friends who used to spending their summers running around the streets of this small Etruscan hillside village made from tufo, the volcanic ash that settled and turned into porous stone. Seeing that it’s becoming less and less populated, these friends, one who is the ex-marketing director of Castellare di Castellina, one who is the agronomist of Fonterenza and Pieve Santa Restituta (Gaja’s Montalcino), and the owner of Osteria Maccale, in the village, got themselves together to preserve San Giovanni delle Contee, the village of their grandfathers, from becoming a ghost town. Also, for the sake of the people that live there, they’re giving them hope. It’s really rather brilliant. They’re buying some grapes from a few different patches of vines on the hill of the village and just across to another one.
More Info
Cantina del Rospo is a tiny, damp cellar, hand scraped out of the tufo, under a house, where they vinify the wine. When they were first told they could borrow this cellar, they were given the keys, and opened the door and there in front of them just inside was a proud looking toad that wasn’t looking like it was going to move anywhere. The toad and his family is still there.