Stefano Amerighi
BACKROUND
There is one place in Italy where Syrah reigns supreme and that is in the Chiuso di Cortona. This hilly zone in the South of Tuscany is home to some of the most expressive and interesting Syrah produced in the world.
The tiny DOC was born in 1999 and has only a handful of producers. Stefano Amerighi is a legitimate Syrah superstar who purchased a 14ha plot of land in 2002, after a geological survey of the Chiuso di Cortona area in Tuscany; with the idea to produce a tiny amount of extremely high-quality Syrah using Biodynamic methods.
On this estate, he planted 8.5ha of Syrah cuttings he procured from the Southern Rhone. The cru he identified and ultimately purchased is called Poggiobella di Farneta. This picturesque vineyard densely planted to 7000 vines per hectare, rests with a Southeast exposure on virgin lands with a unique density of clay, silt, chalk, and dynamic mix of bio-diverse micro-organisms.
Portions of his Syrah are left as a whole cluster, while the blue ribbon winners are saved for a light foot pressing. After a manual transfer to the cement tanks, fermentation occurs spontaneously with indigenous yeasts sans any method of temperature control or intervention.
The young wines are then transferred to wood and cement tanks where they rest and clarify for 14 months before being bottled unfined and unfiltered. These exquisite wines are certified by Demeter Biodynamic.
THE WINE
Stefano's interpretation of Syrah harkens to his love of the Rhone Valley with a rich and robust fruit coupled with fresh minerality and white pepper notes. The wine is at once sleek and wild with brambly ripe berries and precocious chopped herbs wafting through the red fruit core. A beguiling and intense finish counterpoints the nuanced and elegant mid-palate.
