A Great growing season in Chianti Rufina
September 2024
Chianti Rufina
Chatting with vigneron Federico Giuntini from organic estate Fattoria Selvapiana was a pleasant exchange about the great feeling of optimism for the 2024 vintage.
Over these past few days, the harvest in Chianti Rufina is just beginning with early pickings of the Pomino vineyard’s Chardonnay and some of the estate’s Pinot Noir.
The weather has been holding up nicely, and a long dry summer with a few needed light showers in August has secured this season to be one of great quality and quantity!
Vintage 2024
Though the season was warmer than desired, vintage 2024 has turned out to be a dry, long growing season with great fruit quality and quantity!
Winter was rather humid, but a few cold days led Selvapiana to light fires in the vineyards a few nights after VinItaly 2024. Spring was rainy, but cool, and not as much as precipitation as the previous Spring of 2023. Flowering was mid-May because the temperature was cooler, so no real disease pressure, less issues of Mildew – and then rainy warm days continued until June.
July was warm and dry, with veraison starting before the end of July, much earlier than normal. Until now, August has been warm, almost too warm. The diurnal shift of day and night temperatures still remains with cool nights and warm days, but not as drastic as before.
The few rain showers mid-August have helped (15th & 16th – temperatures dropped a bit), so the quantity is looking good, and the vines are not suffering from water stress or too dry of a growing season. The grapes are tasty, and ripening is already happening. Some Pinot Noir has already been picked, and last week, the Chardonnay for Pomino Bianco. Federico expects to start picking Sangiovese in maybe two and a half weeks. There should be no need to do multiple passages this year because grapes all seem to be ripening uniformly.
Hot winds and heat is making ripening happen quickly – these next two weeks are the two crucial weeks to come. Last two days of August have been too hot.
Selvapiana: Vintage 2023 vs 2024?
How to compare 2024 to another vintage?
Last year in 2023 there was a perpetual bloom of humidity in the air, and water seemed to be everywhere. The mountains and grasses were very green well into harvest, and the few heatwaves that came created the idea environment for mildew to grow and breed. Thus 2023 was not as productive in quantity.
Vintage 2024 has been relatively good, without too much disease pressure, but Selvapiana’s team has been very attentive to the vineyards this year, and spraying when necessary, and keeping a careful eye on the vine’s development. While 2024 took a lot of surveillance, as much as last year, they had to watch the canopy management in particular as the vineyards and the grasses were growing very fast, due to the rainy Spring and hot summer.
But, it is still too early to make comparisons to previous vintages… Grapes however are tasting great! Healthy, thick skins, grapes are tasty – just have to watch the next two critical weeks.
Federico is rather optimistic that 2024 could be a GREAT vintage depending on September’s temperatures – ideally they are looking for 26-28°C to accompany the harvest season, with cool nights. No loss due to Mildew – not hail, no frost thankfully! Sure, it was not an easy vintage, but certainly not as much loss or humidity as 2023. Grapes are healthy.
Terraelectae vineyard ERCHI is Growing!
Since the 2016 vintage, Erchi has joined the estate’s range, adding, after Bucerchiale, a second single-vineyard parcel to the estate. As much as Bucerchiale was Francesco Giuntini’s project, Erchi is his son’s. Federico Giuntini also worked to create the Terraelectae* selection during his time as president of the Chianti Rufina Consorzio, and he chose Erchi to represent this new designation.
Erchi, planted in what is known locally as the ‘concha d’oro di Chianti Rufina’, produces wines with notes of black fruit and liquorice, and fine but present tannins. A terroir wine par excellence, here the warm micro-climate of this amphitheatre of limestone and iron-rich soils expresses itself.
In 2025, the estate plans to replant the olive trees and the hectare of Erchi that burnt down in 2021, and to add a further 2 ha, making a parcel of 8 ha! Great news for all Erchi lovers.
* Terraelectae is a cuvée of Chianti Rufina riserva selected by the estate to represent it. The wine must be made from 100% Sangiovese grapes planted in a specific plot – no blending is possible with grapes from neighbouring plots.
Cuvée Focus: Pomino Rosso 2021
While Fattoria Selvapiana has always promoted Sangiovese, positioning itself as an interpreter who lets the different terroirs express themselves, the estate has always made another of the region’s historic wines: Pomino, which has always been a blend.
Pomino is one of the historical wine producing area of Tuscany, shared by two producers only : Villa Petrognano for Selvapiana and Frescobaldi. In 1716 the Granduke of Tuscany Cosimo III de’Medici made the first law to protect the most important wine appellations. POMINO was one of the four designated appellations in addition to CLASSICO, CARMIGNANO and VALDARNO SUPERIORE.
Larger Picture: the area of the current DOG Chianti Rufina
Solid Red and Brown: the area of the Pomino appellation defined by Cosimo III.
Selvapiana has its vineyards in the historic Pomino area.
The appellation area lies further East, in the hills of the Apennines. The region is always windy and benefits from excellent temperature variations due to the surrounding hills and relief. The soils are stony and well-drained.
This is a very small area of around 100 hectares.
Selvapiana has been cultivating and vinifying vines belonging to Villa Petrognano for decades, covering 6 hectares, with the remainder belonging to Frescobaldi.
It is possible to produce a white DOC Pomino too, in which case the grapes are planted between 600 and 750 metres above sea level with the Riesling, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc varieties. And a red DOC Pomino from Sangiovese, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir planted between 400 and 650 metres above sea level.
Selvapiana produces a DOC Pomino bianco made from 95% Chardonnay and 5% Sauvignon Blanc and a DOC Pomino red made from 60% Sangiovese, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% Merlot. The Sangiovese is aged in large casks, while the Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot are aged in barrels for one year.
Villa Petrognano vineyard in the Pomino DOC worked by Fattoria Selvapiana
Selvapiana Olive Oil is Available!
For those who adore the spicy, acid, tangy Selvapiana estate olive oil from the Frantoio olive trees, we have good news – the current release is available and ready to ship! Please contact us for details and pricing.
The 2024 Olive harvest is looking large, but like the grapes, the trees could benefit from some more rain (like 2013 or 2019 harvest).
James Suckling Scores 2024
We are delighted to report that once again, Selvapiana has received a beautiful collection of nice reviews from wine critic James Suckling!
Wines Currently Available
Chianti Rufina 2022
95% Sangiovese and 5% Canaiolo Colorino and Malvasia Nera,
80% of this cuvée is aged in concrete, 10% in stainless steel and 10% in foudre.
Bucerchiale 2022
Release Date: January 2025
100% Sangiovese from Bucerchiale single vineyard CRU, a South East exposure vineyard in Selvapiana
Aged 15 months in barrels including 10% new oak barrels
***this wine is only produced in great vintages
ERCHI 2019
100% Sangiovese from Erchi CRU Vineyard
Planted in an amphitheater in the South of Rufina appellation, in a warmer area.
12 months in barrels including 10% new oak barrels.
Fornace 2020
40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot, 20% Sangiovese
Aged in barrel including 40% new oak barrel
Vin Santo 2015
100% Trebbiano
Dessert wine made by drying the Trebbiano grapes over a five months.
After the drying period the grapes are pressed, the yield is about 20 liters per 100 kg of grapes, and the must is immediately transferred to small barrels, caratelli, of various sizes 50 -100 – 150 -200 liters of chestnut and oak. The barrels are sealed and not opened for 6-7 years.
