Tenuta Le Calcinaie Chianti Colli Senesi DOCG 2024, Tuscany, Organic

This Chianti Colli Senesi comes from Tenuta Le Calcinaie, Simone Santini’s certified organic estate about three kilometres from the medieval town of San Gimignano, in the hills of Siena province. It is made from Sangiovese grown on the higher parts of the property, where the soils are stony red and brown clays at around 200–250 metres above sea level, over the layers of Pliocene marine limestone that give the estate its name. The grapes are harvested by hand, vinified in stainless steel and then matured in wood.

It is a fleshy, vibrant red. The nose shows black cherry, blackcurrant and violet, with lovely floral notes and hints of spice. The palate is well balanced, intense and pleasantly savoury, with juicy dark fruit and a touch of iron, leading to a fragrant, enveloping finish.

Serve at around 16–18°C. It is a natural partner for Tuscan cooking: pasta with ragù, pizza, grilled sausages, roast lamb, beef stew, venison and aged pecorino. Enjoy it now for its vibrant fruit, or over the next few years.

Tenuta Le Calcinaie is a small estate run by Simone Santini, about three kilometres from San Gimignano in the hills of Siena province, Tuscany. Simone planted his first hectare of Vernaccia in 1986, added Sangiovese and other red varieties on higher, clay-rich ground in 1989, and released his first wine, a pure Sangiovese, from the 1993 vintage. The estate takes its name from the ‘calcina’, the layers of limestone from ancient Pliocene marine deposits that lie about half a metre below the surface, topped with clay, sand and fossils. Today there are 12 hectares of vines, mostly Vernaccia and Sangiovese. The vineyards have been farmed organically since 1995 and the wines are certified organic. A new underground cellar was completed in 2006, production is around 70,000 bottles a year, and the winemaking is increasingly hands-off.