2015 Tenuta di Burchino Genius Loci Toscana IGT 750 ml

Exclusive! This electrifying, pure Sangiovese hails from Piergiorgio Castellani’s Burchino estate, high in the fossil-rich Pisan hills just inland from the Tyrrhenian Sea. Castellani has become a Tuscan superstar, declared by Wine Enthusiast to be “jockeying for a position as one of the top producers of Italy.” That position was cemented with his brilliant line-up coming out of the 2015 vintage, a year James Suckling hailed as “spectacular,” pinning 91 points on this bottling. Made from fruit off single-vineyard vines cultivated according to the antique espalier system, this is old-school Tuscany at its best, offering red fruit intensity wrapped in firm, chocolatey tannins. Thanks to Wine Access’s track record of selling out Castellani’s Chiantis, we have the exclusive offering of 2015 Tenuta di Burchino Genius Loci Toscana in the U.S. market. 

The opportunity to meet Piergiorgio Castellani and sample his Chianti line-up was the highlight of a whiplash battery of tastings in Europe this past March at Prowein. Blending a passion for the latest thinking in viticulture with classic Italian charisma (he’s even acted in a few movies), Castellani’s become a shining star of Tuscan winemaking.
 
He owns six wineries including the Castellani estate, run by his family for over a century. But it’s one of his oldest properties, the Burchino estate, that really caught our attention while tasting through the remarkable 2015s. Burchino has been in the Castellani family for four centuries, and the Old World ways still prevail there. The cellar holds historic documents dating back to the harvests of the early 900s; an ancient Egyptian hypogeum from 800 BC holds the family’s finest reservas.
 
Of course what really distinguishes Burchino, located in the medieval village of Terricciola, is the terroir. The Sangiovese grapes for the Genius Loci are drawn off a single vineyard named Le Corti sitting at 650 feet above sea level. Vines are densely planted, roughly 2,375 per acre—yielding smaller clusters and berries—sitting on hilltops offering ideal exposure. Soils are loose and well-draining, a mix of sand, clay, and fossil shells, showing the geography’s nearby marine influence. Grapes are harvested by hand, fermented in stainless steel and aged in French barriques. Throughout Tuscany, the Sangiovese in this area is renowned for its fragrant floral aromas and deep raspberry concentration.
 
2015 in Italy left James Suckling grasping for adjectives: “it’s hard to generalize about what grape types were better in 2015 as it seems everything was outstanding.” The warm, long growing season, reminiscent of 2007’s, produced Italian reds with excellent tannic backbone, shot through with mouthwatering, juicy fruit. On the hilly terrain of the Pisa hills, Castellani scored a home run with the Genius Loci—a vibrant Sangiovese that, like the estate itself, will stand the test of time.