Castello di Fonterutoli

We got totally lost on the way to Castello di Fonterutoli since we were looking for a castle whereas the estate is actually a collection of medieval buildings and a super-modern winery. This would have been useful information since we spent a long time driving round very close to the winery (and past the enoteca which is where we were actually supposed to go) until we had to admit defeat and call for directions. Don't make the same mistake if you are going.


We had an excellent guide for our tour who not only showed us around the estate, barrel hall and (very modern) winery, but also explained to us the legend behind the Chianti black rooster. The story goes that in the middle ages the Sienese and Florentines decided that the best way to decide the position of the frontier between Siena and Florence would be to have a race. One horseman would set out from each city as the rooster first crowed in the morning. The place where the horsemen met would be the frontier between the two. The Sienese chose a pampered, white rooster who crowed at the usual time. The clever/devious (delete depending on one's allegiance to either city) Florentines chose a thin, hungry black rooster which they had starved for a couple of days and kept in the dark. Shortly after midnight they brought the rooster out of the dark and he promptly crowed. The Florentine horseman set of hours earlier than his Sienese counterpart. The result of this was that the boundary between the towns was set only a short distance from Siena. So, whilst highly implausible, this story does at least explain the iconography.


The Tasting
1. Rose Belguardo IGT
(Sangiovese, Syrah)
5 hours of skin contact for the syrah, 20 hours for the sangiovese.
Salmon rose. Medium-high intensity aromas of red fruit. Dry, medium acid, very low tannin. Good length, with red fruit and crisp acidity. A little hot on the finish (not sure what the actual alcohol is). Good (for a rose). Drink it in the sun and forget about it otherwise.

2. Zisola, Sicilia IGT
Nero d'Avola bush vines.
Deep ruby. Pronounced black fruit and some rustic aromas such as leather. Medium acid, tannin and body. Alcohol noticeable on palate. Medium all round really. Solid quality, but not amazing.

3. Bronzone, Morellino di Scansano
100% Sangiovese
Deep ruby, pronounced red fruit, berries and spice. Medium-high acid, high tannin. Intense red fruit on the palate. Also some bitter chocolate and spice. Quite complex - more so on the palate than on the nose. Very good

4. Fonterutoli, Chianti Classico 2007
Medium intensity red fruit, floral notes. High acid (a little too prevalent). Should balance out in time. Good, needs time or food

5. Castello di Fonterutoli, Chianti Classico 2006
Deep and brooding. Concentrated black fruits, cinnamon, white pepper and liquorice. High tannin and acid. Full bodied. This is very good and will be better with time

6. Siepe, IGT 2006
(50% Sangiovese, 50% Merlot)
Medium-high intensity aromas of liquorice and black fruit. Very high tannin and high acid. Intense and concentrated palate. Depth of flavour. Long. This one is outstanding, but needs time.

7. Castello di Fonterutoli, 2005
Medium-high intensity nose. Green pepper making an appearance over the black fruit. This one is showing much better than the 2006. Smooth, with some vegetal notes coming through over the fruit. The acid and tannin are in balance now, but both very high. Excellent stuff

Enoteca di Fonterutoli
+39 0577 741 385
enoteca@fonterutoli.it
www.mazzei.it