Toscana Cabernet Franc Ampeleia 2022

Toscana Cabernet Franc Ampeleia 2021, biodynamic wine, elegant, precise, classic Cab Franc characteristics with Tuscan warmth, a gorgeous glass of red.  When you visit Ampeleia, you cannot help but fall in love with the wines.  This place is intoxicating in its beauty, its tranquility and sheer pleasure of drinking the wines.  The Cabernet France comes from three parcels, planted on slightly different terroir at different altitudes.  Tasting the parcels individually, you can sense the terroir and the impact on the flavour is profound.  At present, the three parcels are blended together to give a final wine of precision and elegance but a lush fruity up front element.  It will age but is drinking beautifully already and will go with pretty much any meat or pasts dish you can think off.  The plan at Ampeleia is to produce three different Cuvee from the three parcels to showcase the diversity of the terroir and the profound impact the soil and biodynamic production can have on the style of the wine.  This is the obsession of Marco Tait, the man behind the wine and a man whose passion comes through in the sheer quality of very glass of Ampeleia.

Ampeleia was born in 2002 from the collaboration and friendship between Elisabetta Foradori, Thomas Widmann and Giovanni Podini.  The estate covers around 30 hecatres in total based on the hillside below the beautiful town of Roccatederighi.

The town is about 500 metres above sea level in the southern part of the Maremma in eastern Tuscany, not far from the coast.  When you visit this place, you understand what the 'real' Tuscany is all about.  It is a stunningly beautiful, quiet and natural environment and one which is perfect for the production of high quality natural wine.

The founders saw Ampeleia as a place where they could not only develop an agricultural project, but also fulfil a common vision relating to shared values and experiences. The vineyards were converted to biodynamic farming in 2009. The land is spread over 3 distinct altitudes, each with different soils which suit the different grapes cultivated.  The main grapes are Alicante (Grenache), Carignano (Carignan) and Trebbiano for white.  However the signature grape and that which excites them the most for its potential in this area is the Cabernet Franc.

The two men behind the winery are Marco Tait and Francesco Pascucci, both have been there since the start with Marco heading up the viticulture and Francesco the commercial side of the business.  Together, they form an impressive team and have driven the project forward with a combined vision which has passion, quality, no compromise and commitment at its heart.

All the wines here are made by respecting the natural processes transforming grapes to wine, aiming for a true expression of the land. The wines are pure and expressive, with delicious acidity to cut through classic Tuscan cuisine. The wines are bottled without fining or filtration, and very little sulphur. Fermentation takes place naturally in amphora, stainless steel and concrete tanks.  There is very little oak used at Ampeleia.  It is incredible to taste Rose from the tank at the winery soon after the end of fermentation with no additions or sulphites and experience such clean freshness in a wine.  The natural balance in these Tuscany wines is so incredible that they are able to age for a long time, even the Rose and white.  We have drunk 10 year old Cabernet Franc which was superb.  

 Despite the challenging climatic changes in the region, the wines at Ampeleia are likely to get better and better as the years go on.  This is still a relatively young project in wine growing terms and with the Biodynamic approach, the incredible vineyard sites and the purity of the environment, the estate is set to go from strength to strength.