2015 FONTALLORO, Fèlsina Berardenga. IGT, Tuscany, Italy

Fèlsina is based at the small town of Castelnuovo Berardenga, on the southern border of Chianti Classico (just east of Siena). It is the warmest part of Classico and looks out southwards towards Montalcino. The style is bigger, broader and a little more like a Brunello than the fresher Chianti styles of Isole e Olena, Fontodi etc. The farm is 500 hectares, but less than 100 are vineyards.

100% Sangiovese, aged in French oak for 20 months, (only a very small proportion of new oak).

Giuseppe Mazzocolin ran Fèlsina Berardenga for 40 years, using the full scope of his intellectual and philosophical talents (in ‘real life’ he is an academic). To visit Giuseppe was to learn not just about the wines of Fèlsina, but also about its culture, its light, its history, its soul. He has now handed over day to day management to the talented Andrea Bonivento. The consultant winemaker remains Franco Bernabei.
Fontalloro is a wine made from vineyards both within and without the Classico zone, hence its ‘IGT’ status.

Powerful but tight-knit. Decant an hour in advance, use big glasses, or keep until 2025.

At Fèlsina they like to serve wild boar or other game with Fontalloro.

“The 2015 Fontalloro is a landmark achievement. The bouquet strikes out with immediate complexity. It dangles aromas of black cherry, spice, tar, forest floor, wild rose and campfire ash in front of your nose with seductive allure. The unified presentation and delivery of all those aromas is profound and impressive. This edition of Fontalloro is exceptionally smooth and silky in texture and this is surely linked to the ripe, soft and finely textured fruit produced in this vintage. This is a pure expression of Sangiovese that is aged in barrique for up to 22 months.” The Wine Advocate.