Pruneto - Chianti Classico 2021 D.O.C.G. (14% ABV) 750ml
Pruneto is a nice old farmhouse on top of a hill surrounded by vineyards. Riccardo Lanza’s father bought the estate in the late 1960’s. Previously their family lived in Milan. “Only poor people lived here (at that time)” Lanza said. “The work was too hard.” His father was attracted to Pruneto through a friendship with legendary resident Sergio Manetti of neighboring Montevertine. Montevertine, at that time was making waves with 100% Sangiovese bottlings from this hill in the center of Chianti Classico. In 1980 Pruneto’s one vineyard worker retired and Riccardo has been doing it all himself ever since.
The Pruneto estate is tiny: 3.5 hectares divided into just two vineyards, surrounded by forest. The older site very steep, west-facing and was planted in 1972. Lanza says he never has to worry about sunburned grapes from this field. His other parcel was planted in 1999, and is surrounded on all sides by forest. Lanza describes with wonder the experience of walking through the forest to this hidden vineyard. All his vines grow at a temperate 550 meters above sea level.
Pruneto’s vineyards are blessed with the famed galestro soils of Tuscany, a friable schist mixed with chalk that, along with the high altitude, lends a vibrancy to Pruneto’s wines... In the cellar Lanza is very traditional. He uses large old foudres and simple equipment to make his wines. He has used the same press for 35 years. The cellar is clean, but not high-tech. “It’s difficult to find the right machine for me. I am low-tech” says Riccardo.
We are located in Radda in chianti, the Pruneto estate built in the second half of the 1700s, is situated on the crest of a hill in a breathtaking setting of nature and landscape. In this particular area of Chianti, woodland still predominates, about 75 percent over vineyards and olive groves, which in itself is an extraordinary fact, and one understands the important biological diversity of these historically wild lands.
The estate was purchased by the Lanza family in the 1960s and converted to a farm in the early 1970s'. The first bottling was in 1981.
Massimiliano, who represents the third generation of winemakers, tells us how the vineyards cover just over three hectares, arranged along the southern slope of the hill on which the farm rests, with southern and southwestern exposure. A single body divided into 3 plots: the first planted in 1972 in the upper part with purely sandy soil where the Sangiovese for the reserve comes from , the second from 1999 in the lower part, where the clay part is prevalent and the grapes express character and power and finally a vineyard that connects the previous ones planted in 2017.
The predominant grape variety is obviously Sangiovese, flanked by a few rows of Merlot, Canaiolo and Ciliegiolo
Viticulture: Organic
Soil type: Galestro, a friable schist mixed with chalk.
Elevation: 550m
Grapes: 95% Sangiovese, 5% Merlot
Method of fermentation: Hand picked, destemmed, fermented with native yeasts in concrete tanks then aged in very large neutral oak for 18 months and then in bottle for 4 months before release
Bottles made: 833 cases
Kirsch. Chalky. Classic. On three and a half hectares of hilly vineyard between Radda and Volpaia, Riccardo Lanza and his son Massimilliano make super-traditional, no-frills, pitch perfect Chianti Classico. Their cellar is tiny. Their barrels are large. Their Sangiovese-based wines are intended for long aging, and happily reach us once a few years have passed from harvest. If you like lovely people making honest affordable Tuscan wine in small batches, look no further. Maybe look in your fridge, for some Pecorino cheese, and spicy salami.
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farming/cellar organic, ambient yeast ferment in concrete, matured for 18 months in very large neutral oak before an additional 4 months in bottle before release.
pairing - Rabbit Cacaitore Sicilian olives and vine ripe tomatoes and garlic. Grilled meats and charcuterie platter and parmigiano-reggiano, Cacio Pepe, Truffled Risotto and grilled meaty steak mushrooms.