Palistorti di Valgiano Bianco , organic wine, simply outstanding Tuscan white, layered, vibrant and aromatic with rich underlying depth and texture. On first tasting this wine, i was unsure (always the best way to start as great wines want you to spend time thinking about them), tasty yes, but a little closed on nose and palate, fresh but not leaping out of the glass. White wine in particular often makes you have to work a little but the effort is always rewarded. I duly worked, savoured, considered, drank the whole bottle......just to be sure. I then decided, this is delicious white wine. From a blend of many grapes, it comes together to harness the flavours and feel of Tuscany, the warmth, the wild herbs, the scrub and dry land, the rich bounty that Tuscany can provide. All in this wine, absolutely lovely stuff.
The story Tenuta di Valgiano started in 1992 when the then ancient estate was purchased by Moreno Petrini - a local guy from the hills of Lucca, and Laura di Collobiano, from Piemonte - she had landed in Tuscany at the end of the Eighties, working in a shipyard on the shoreline, in Viareggio before moving into wine making, consulting and eventually production. The estate is some 40 hectares with 16 under vines and Laura now produces just 3 wines, two red and a white from a mixture of local grapes, Sangiovese, Cannaiolo, Trebbiano and Malvasia, and some small plantings of international varieties like Merlot, Syrah, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. The farm is worked according to natural principles, organic and non-interventionist with certain processes following the biodynamic character. The age of the vines and benefit of natural farming on excellent terroir - sandstone bedrock with calcareous, marl and limestone - has started to producer fruit of outstanding quality and the results are evident the bottles. These are wines with grace and poise, from a lesser known corner of Tuscany but a region producing wine every bit as serious as its more illustrious neighbours.
