Pagliarese was considered a legendary producer of Chianti back in the 1970s, making world-class wines precisely when virtually everyone else was making schlock for straw baskets. It had a long history. Their website doesn't have... Read More

Pagliarese was considered a legendary producer of Chianti back in the 1970s, making world-class wines precisely when virtually everyone else was making schlock for straw baskets. It had a long history. Their website doesn't have much info but does feature a crest with the year “A.D. 1242.” History.

But no length of history could save Pagliarese from the pricing pressures those schlocky baskets created. It was hard to earn money making quality Chianti. Fortunately, that was not the end of Pagliarese’s story.

Pagliarese lies between two estates that Chianti-lovers know well: Fèlsina and Castell'In Villa. In 1995, one of those neighbors, Fèlsina, purchased the estate. They replanted the vines and cared for them organically. For 20 years they added the Pagliarese juice to their Fèlsina Chiantis.

But Pagliarese is special. It’s not just the long history, or its exalted post-war reputation. It’s also a uniqueness of terroir: Pagliarese’s vineyards have less of Fèlsina's stony alberese soils and more clay, sand and volcanic tufo. Without the hard and limestone alberese notes, the wine is more inclined to express Sangiovese's elegant side than its power.

This is terroir that has something different to say than Fèlsina’s, and it deserved to be bottled separately. So, now that the replanted vines are old enough, Fèlsina has started doing exactly that. The traditional approach to the wine accentuates these differences. The Sangiovese is blended with Canaiolo and Mammolo, Chianti's traditional blending grapes, which give lift and subtle floral and spice notes to the wine. The winemaking is with a very light touch: gentle extractions, aging in large Slavonian botti.