Chianti is a great wine region. You are located in Castelnuovo Berardenga, a few kilometers from Siena. What are the characteristics of this place?

Castelnuovo Berardenga is the southernmost part of the Chianti Classico, its territory is characterized by gentle and sunny hills. It is a land of light.

Fèlsina is located at the edge of the Chianti Classico delimitation area, between the last ridges of the Chianti mountains and the valley, passing by the Ombrone river. Here there is an extraordinary diversity of soils, microclimates, as well as a rich biodiversity preserved and preserved since my family bought the estate in 1966.

On one side stretch the rocky and calcareous soils – called alberese – of the Chianti, on the other the sandy-silty land of the Crete Senesi. Crete is a dialect word meaning clay and appears widely in Tuscany. It is a bare and healthy landscape, which extends over many of the vineyards of Fèlsina.

A sandstone formation (called macigno) predominates in the highest areas of Fèlsina at 420 meters above sea level. Light gray or white in color, it characterizes the soils of Chianti Classico.

Further south, towards Crete, the landscape was shaped by a Pliocene sea dating back to about 4.5 to 2.5 million years BC. Rich in sand, gravel, pebbles and marine sediments.

Here, the view can stretch far across the hills to the imposing silhouette of Monte Amiata on the horizon, to Montalcino to the south, and to the sea to the west.

Sangiovese is the king of grapes and you have been making massal selections for decades. What were you looking for and what did you get as a result?

Fèlsina Sangiovese is an extraordinary variety, from different soils and clones, which constitutes a distinctive heritage to be passed on to future generations. Since 1983, we have been implementing a mass selection programme that has allowed us to preserve an important heritage of different Sangiovese, cultivated here through long efforts and much research. This marriage between grape variety and terroir is an inseparable element of Fèlsina’s past and future.

It is this rich biodiversity that justified our decision to produce monovarietal Sangioveses. A decision motivated not only by philosophy, but also by the richness of the terroir and our own experience.

We offer the Castello di Farnetella cuvée in the Chianti Colli Senesi appellation. How is it different from other cuvées?

Farnetella is a particular micro-zone, located in the south-east of Chianti Classico, north of Montalcino and almost on the border with the production area of ​​Nobile di Montepulciano.

Since the early 80s, mass selection has allowed the reproduction and conservation of the best Sangiovese plants. Micro-vinifications have been carried out, vineyard by vineyard, to identify the characteristics of the Sangiovese of this land.

The particular aroma that distinguishes it, and which gives it its identity, is sweet licorice, revealing the Farnetella style of this grape.

Berardenga, Rancia and Fontalloro are 3 emblematic wines of Felsina. What are their identities?

These three vintages come exclusively from the Sangiovese grape variety. Fèlsina Berardenga represents the pleasure of a lively and young Chianti Classico for each vintage. It is aged mainly in Slavic oak, with a small quantity of barriques (not new). It is always characterized by an impressive structural balance. “Riserva” versions are produced in the best years.

Rancia and Fontalloro offer a particular identification of their terroirs with notes of tobacco leaves. Vigneto Rancia is sober, elegant and refined. Fontalloro on the other hand is extroverted and particularly rich in aromatic variety. Each of these wines develops in a unique way, over the years, and in each specific vintage. They demonstrate the long-term evolution potential of Sangiovese.

The Rancia grapes are selected at the top of the Rancia hill, in the Chianti Classico area. Fontalloro is the result of the vinification of Sangiovese selected from 3 different plots, Poggio al Sole, in the Chianti Classico area, and Casalino and Arcidossino in the Chianti Colli Senesi. Three different characteristic soils therefore, which give very particular expressions to Sangiovese…