2021 Castello di Ama Chianti Classico "Ama", Tuscany, Italy

ABOUT THIS WINE

Ama, produced almost entirely from Sangiovese grapes, was added to the estate’s wines with the 2010 vintage and the introduction of Gran Selezione quality criterion in Chianti Classico. This wine is made from vines planted at high density (5,200 vines / hectare). The grapes are hand-harvested from vines that are 10-12 years old on average. Fruity and harmonic, the voluptuous Ama Chianti Classico expresses all the elegance of the estate’s wines.

ABOUT THIS PRODUCER

The property of Castello di Ama has historical reference dating to the Etruscans. Ama was owned by the Firidolfi family during the Holy Roman Empire. The castle, which stands in the denomination, was probably destroyed in the fifteenth century during the Aragonese invasions in the Chianti area.

In the early 1700s new dwellings were built, using the same stones, in the exact same spot where the castle had originally stood. Hence, the construction of the villas belonging to Pianigiani and Ricucci families, which now comprise the Castello di Ama estate headquarters. A document dating to July 1773 contains a report by the Grand Duke of Tuscany, Leopold II, as the Governor of Tuscany, which praised the excellence of the hilly terrain.

The beauty of Ama spurred Tomaso Carini to oversee the rebirth of this land in the early Seventies, involving three friends (GianVittorio Cavanna, Pietro Tradico and Lionello Sebasti) in the project. A limited company was established, which would change the destiny of Chianti. The four entrepreneurs, led by Cavanna, replanted most of the vineyards and built a modern fermentation cellar, which became an innovative model for the entire area. Marco Pallanti arrived in Ama in 1982, a young Florentine agronomist who became the estate’s winemaker after extensive technical training at the University of Bordeaux under the tutelage of Patrick Léon. Lorenza Sebasti, the daughter of one of the owners, Lionello, took over the estate’s management in 1993. A 40-year labour together, Lorenza and Marco continue to share the same passion and vision. The second generation of the Carini, Tradico and Sebasti families are still represented in today’s company.