Website: https://www.castellodiquerceto.it/?lang=en
My journey took me back to Querceto where I had set foot in October 2008. Fast forward to 15 years later, Alessandro François, my host from the previous visit, welcomed me again. Remarkably, he looked the same despite now being in his 80s. Having managed his family’s estate since 1978, Alessandro suggests that consuming Chianti Classico might well be the fountain of youth. This time, I also had the chance to meet Marco Fizialetti, the sales manager and Alessandro’s son-in-law.
Querceto, a historical vineyard based in Greve in Chianti in the Dudda Valley, has been under the ownership of the François family for over a century, with Alessandro’s grandfather, Carlo, acquiring it in 1897.
The estate features 26 distinct vineyards spread across approximately 60 hectares. From these, they produce five unique single vineyard wines. The vineyards range from 400 m at the valley floor to 600 m at the upper levels. A distinctive characteristic of the Dudda Valley include the diverse, polychrome soils that reflect various minerals, mostly stony, allowing vine roots to penetrate deeply. The average age of the wine-producing vines is between 25-30 years, thriving in well-drained soils, which are particularly suited for growing the Sangiovese grape.
Surrounded by a lush forest, Il Picchio boasts primarily clay soils with patches of limestone. It covers an area of 4.5 hectares, oriented southwest at elevations between 420 and 450 meters, and is notable for its high magnesium content.
La Corte features sandy soils that contain minimal limestone but are rich in manganese and iron. This sunny, wind-exposed terrace was replanted in the 1970s with genetic material from ancient vines first planted in 1899 by Carlo François, the grandfather of Alessandro. La Corte spans 3.4 hectares and also faces southwest, positioned at elevations of 440 to 470 meters.
The estate produces approximately 450,000 bottles annually, solely from its own fruit, with each of the crus being produced at about 15,000 bottles.
Marco notes a reduced risk during the harvest period now, thanks to more consistent and earlier harvesting, shifting from October to mid-September.
They work a lot with cover crops in the row. No herbicides are used here and weed control is manual.
Castillo di Querceto Chianti Classico 2021
Bright, juicy, vivid and lively with high acidity and juicy cherry and blackberry fruit. Lovely acid line here: this is intense and focused with a classic structure and nice purity of fruit. So linear and direct with a lot of energy. Gastronomic and very tart. 92/100
Castillo di Querceto Chianti Classico Riserva 2020
This is really nice. It’s fresh and juicy with some tart cherry fruit but also some nice texture and volume. There’s a lovely core of black cherry fruit with nice fruit depth and fine spices. This is very fine and expressive with some elegance but also freshness, showing good structure. 94/100
Castillo di Querceto La Corte Chianti Classico Gran Selezione 2018
This was an IGT for a while because it was 100% Sangiovese. Very expressive and bright with elegant fine, sappy red fruits with notes of iron and minerals. Fruity and expressive with nice firm tannins and good acidity, but also a sense of delicacy, finishes with fine spices and a hint of dried herbs. 95/100
Castillo di Querceto La Corte Chianti Classico Gran Selezione 2019
Lovely concentration here but great freshness with linear black cherry and raspberry fruit. It has good structure here and quite dense fruit, but there are notes of iron and minerals and a sense of freshness, despite the weight. This will age nicely, I suspect, and open up a bit. 95/100
Castillo di Querceto La Corte Chianti Classico Gran Selezione 2020
Youthful, lively and intense with fresh red cherries, minerals, iron and spice, showing high acidity and a remarkable purity of red fruits. Lovely purity to the fruit, but also underneath it there’s quite a bit of structure and nice intensity. Has a beautiful freshness with some liqueur-like sweetness to the red fruits countered by tangy sour cherry notes and lemony acid. Could be quite wonderful in time. 96/100
Castillo di Querceto Il Picchio Chianti Classico Gran Selezione 2018
This has lovely fresh, sweet black cherry and blackberry fruit, with good weight and also some nice texture. It’s bold but still has elegance, showing some gravelly character and a touch of chalkiness, but also open fruit. Very fine in a richer style than La Corte, but still with a lovely mineral tension. 95/100
Castillo di Querceto Il Picchio Chianti Classico Gran Selezione 2019
Lively and intense with a lovely acid line, showing taut black cherry and blackberry fruit with nice structure. It’s a powerful wine: linear and youthful with nice intensity. Massive potential here. It combines fruit with mineral framing and good structure so effectively. Finishes grainy and alert. A long ager. 95/100
Castillo di Querceto Il Picchio Chianti Classico Gran Selezione 2020
This wine displays a youthful and vibrant profile, featuring pronounced notes of black cherry and blackberry, complemented by floral nuances and a hint of sappiness. It exhibits both purity and a robust core of dark fruits. The balance of weight and freshness suggests it has good potential for aging. 94/100