CASTELLO DI VOLPAIA CHIANTI CLASSICO GRAN SELEZIONE COLTASSALA 2017

The Coltassala vineyard shares its location and name with a villa. The first Super-Tuscans were created in the 1970s by Chianti Classico producers who rejected government mandates that determined which grapes were required to go into their wine, especially with grapes like Trebbiano and Malvasia. The Super-Tuscans were also treated differently from Chianti, aged in small French barriques rather than large Slavonian oak casks. Because the Super-Tuscans did not follow the DOC regulations, the Super-Tuscans were entitled only to the lowest official designation of the time—Vino da tavola. It wasn’t until 1994 that government recognized the high quality of Super-Tuscans and gave the wine it’s own category—IGT (Indicazione Geografica Tipica). Volpaia first released Coltassala in 1980 as a Super-Tuscan. The Chianti Classico appellation followed suit, closing the quality gap between Chianti Classico and SuperTuscans. Now Coltassala is a Chianti Classico Riserva Cru even though it’s the same SuperTuscan wine of 1980.

Fattoria Castello di Volpaia is a wine estate in the village of Volpaia in Chianti Classico. It is particularly known for its red wines featuring the Sangiovese grape variety. The organically-farmed estate extends to 370 hectares (914 acres), of which 46ha (114 acres) are planted with vines. Grapes are picked by hand into small boxes to ensure they are intact when they reach the winery. The winery facilities are built within the village’s structures – there are fermentation tanks in abandoned church buildings. Stainless steel pipes known as the “wineduct” connect these buildings at the top of the village with several barrel cellars at the bottom.