Castello di Ama - Chianti Classico - Vigneto Bellavista, 1992
Ama is a small hamlet that has a long and deep-rooted history. It lends its name to this wine’s producer. The hamlet’s first records trace back to the 988 AD. In the 11th century, Ama was the beneficiary of several privileges granted by the Holy Roman Emperors: Henry VI and Otto IV. In a famous report of 1773, the Grand Duke Peter Leopold, Governor of Tuscany, described the region of Ama as “the most beautiful part in all of Chianti”. According to the Grand Duke, Ama’s vines were “well-situated, in full sun, beautifully tended, as if they were gardens”.
The Pallanti family has owned Castello di Ama since 1972. Over the years, Marco Pallanti and his wife Lorenza Sebasti have shaped the very name of Chianti Classico. Marco was the president of the Consortium for many years, striving to distinguish Chianti Classico from its competitors and raise the quality of the wines of the DOCG. The Pallanti family made the same painstaking efforts in the Castello di Ama’s vineyards. In the 1980s, vines were stripped and replanted with new rootstock and state-of-the-art trellising systems. Plots were carefully studied to select the best grape and clone for each particular microclimate.
Today Castello di Ama’s vineyards extend for approximately 37 hectares, 500 metres above sea level. Vigneto Bellavista, the wine presented, is a single-vineyard wine from clay-rich soils, aged in barrels, 50% of which is new French oak. The wine is only made in exceptional years. From 2013 onwards, the wine has been labelled as “Gran Selezione”.
In the glass, the wine appears rich garnet of medium intensity. On the nose, it’s extremely concentrated and deep, with a marvelous perfume and refinement. The red and black fruit notes are still so vivid and alive despite it having considerable age! Red and black cherry, raspberry jam, blackberry and cassis with a touch of resinated fruit (prunes and black figs). A broad spicy undertone adds complexity: cedar box, bay leaves, dark chocolate, black tea, earth, dried leaves, white pepper, and a subtle balsamic component. There are also nuances of butterscotch, vanilla, nutmeg, carob tree…even furry and meaty notes. The bouquet is complex, intense and quite splendidly evolved.
On the palate, the wine is full in body with a perfect high acidity and sustained tannins. The latter are so smooth and round that the wine seems liquid velvet in the mouth. The flavour concentration is just terrific: red and black fruit notes (still alive and dancing) mingle with secondary aromas (charred wood, cedar box, clove, toast) and tertiary flavours (potpourri, dried flowers, black figs). A complex bouquet, incorporating hints of liquorice, tar, rosemary, old bark, black tea. A suggestion of roasted meat can be found in the long luxurious finish. This wine exhibits an extraordinary complexity and concentration. It has superbly evolved into a harmonious masterpiece. It feels like a godlike eternal nectar impervious to time and space!