{"id":2486,"date":"2023-11-05T19:15:35","date_gmt":"2023-11-05T19:15:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/?p=2486"},"modified":"2023-11-05T19:15:35","modified_gmt":"2023-11-05T19:15:35","slug":"querciabella","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/?p=2486","title":{"rendered":"Querciabella"},"content":{"rendered":"

The whole idea behind Power Tasting\u2019s<\/em> winery reviews is that we share our impressions at wineries and tasting rooms where we have had tastings.\u00a0 In this article, we review a winery we haven\u2019t<\/em> visited.\u00a0 A story goes with it.<\/p>\n

We were on a wine tasting trip to Tuscany and focused on two regions within the province.\u00a0 One was the area between Montalcino and Montepulciano, where Brunello and Vino Nobile are made.\u00a0 The other, of course, was the area of Chianti Classico.\u00a0 We had been drinking the namesake wine of Querciabella (quercailbella.com), a Chianti, at home and liked it a lot so we wanted to meet the people who made it and taste some of their other wines.<\/p>\n

Querciabella is located in the tiny town of Ruffoli, on a hillside outside the somewhat larger town of Greve.\u00a0 On a Saturday, we had lunch in Greve and then drove to the Querciabella vineyard, only to find it deserted.\u00a0 We knocked on the door of what was evidently a house, and a rather angry man opened the door.\u00a0 To our embarrassment, our appointment was for Friday.\u00a0 The proprietor (who we now know to be Sebastiano Cossia Castiglioni) had invited his publicist to drive down from Milan to meet us and had evidently planned quite a tasting.\u00a0 He slammed the door in our faces and he had a right to be angry.<\/p>\n

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The Querciabella winery.\u00a0 Photo courtesy of Winedering.<\/em><\/p>\n

So this article is our attempt at amends.<\/p>\n

In a region of Italy where winemaking goes back for millennia and many labels have histories over the centuries, Querciabella is a relative newcomer.\u00a0 Founded in 1974 on a single hectare in Ruffoli, it now encompasses over 100 hectares in Chianti and Maremma.<\/p>\n

Querciabella is famous for several reasons.\u00a0 While they make Chianti at several quality levels, Querciabella was among the pioneers in producing Super Tuscans.\u00a0 Eschewing the traditional rules of Chianti winemaking \u2013 at least 80% Sangiovese and no more than 20% of grapes such as Canaiolo or Colorino \u2013 Querciabella started mixing Sangiovese with French grapes, primarily Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.\u00a0 The first Super Tuscans were produced in the 1970\u2019s; Querciabella\u2019s first was released in 1981.\u00a0 That wine was Camartina, the winery\u2019s flagship to this day.\u00a0 Their Turpino is a Bordeaux blend with no Sangiovese at all.\u00a0 And they also make a 100% Merlot, which they call Palafreno, but only in years when conditions are ideal.\u00a0 Querciabella has only released it a dozen times.<\/p>\n

They are also famous for their commitment to sustainability.\u00a0 All their wines are organic, biodynamic (without the manure-filled cowhorns), and vegan.\u00a0 No animal products of any sorts are used in their winemaking.<\/p>\n

We can attest that their Chiantis are not to be looked down on.\u00a0 The Classico is accessible but has lots of Chianti character.\u00a0 The Riserva is more of the same with greater depth.\u00a0 Querciabella has had a Gran Selezione since that designation was allowed in the previous decade.\u00a0 It\u2019s a single vineyard Sangiovese, using their best grapes.<\/p>\n

They also make a few white wines.\u00a0 Naturally enough, these wines are blends of Italian and French grapes, too.<\/p>\n

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A word about Querciabella\u2019s labels.\u00a0 They all have drawings evocative of restaurants, for reasons unknown.\u00a0 They\u2019re cute, belying the seriousness of the wine behind the labels.<\/p>\n

So should you be wine tasting in Tuscany, make a point of visiting Querciabella.\u00a0 Just don\u2019t tell them we sent you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The whole idea behind Power Tasting\u2019s winery reviews is that we share our impressions at wineries and tasting rooms where we have had tastings.\u00a0 In this article, we review a winery we haven\u2019t visited.\u00a0 A story goes with it. We were on a wine tasting trip to Tuscany and focused on two regions within the … Continue reading Querciabella<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2486"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2486"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2486\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2489,"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2486\/revisions\/2489"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2486"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2486"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2486"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}