The farmhouse of lost dreams: the story and the wine

Just as I was involved in the launch of the essay "Gli eroi bevono vino", in the same way I lent a hand at the presentation of another book, the novel "Il casale dei sogni perduti" by Lisetta Renzi. The event was held in Rome at the Tlon bookshop.

The novel, set predominantly in Tuscany (in Val d'Orcia, in the province of Siena), tells the story of a young Anglo-Italian woman, Isabel, English by birth but Italian on her father's side. Isabel, deeply connected to her father's land – rich in history and culture but also generous in the wines it produces – inherits from her great-aunt Ada the farmhouse in Val d'Orcia where she spent the summers of her childhood and youth. Her beloved aunt Ada had introduced her to aesthetics and architecture, as well as passing on to her the values of beauty and freedom in pursuing one's passions.

Despite this, at thirty Isabel leads a very different life from the one she had dreamed of as a child: she works as a controller at a prestigious English investment bank, is in a relationship with a successful manager, and lives in a luxurious loft in London – rational and particularly orderly, much like her entire life. However, when her great-aunt dies, Isabel is forced to confront a painful past that has heavily shaped all her choices. Returning to the old home where she had spent her Tuscan summers, every room, every object, every scent puts her back in touch with her most authentic self, leading her to seek out her old dreams and the true happiness she had long believed to be lost forever.

And then there is the wine produced in aunt Ada's vineyard, Sangiovese-based, another protagonist of the story. A wine that ultimately helps reconcile Isabel with herself and bind her once and for all to her land of origin. The wine in the novel is Falco di Torrelupo, a pure Sangiovese produced in the land of the great Brunello di Montalcino or Chianti Classico, world-renowned. And the book presentation could only conclude with a tasting of a Chianti Classico. We chose the one from the winery Castellare in Castellina.

The book recounts the Val d'Orcia and Montalcino. Castellina in Chianti, where the Castellare estate is located, is also in the province of Siena, about seventy kilometres to the north of where the novel's story unfolds. Chianti Classico can only be produced in dedicated vineyards in just 9 municipalities in the provinces of Siena and Florence, making it a wine-growing zone far more restricted than Chianti, whose vineyards extend across five Tuscan provinces.

Castellare di Castellina is owned by Paolo Panerai, the well-known financial and economic publisher who invested in Chianti Classico in the 1970s and contributed to the renaissance of Italian wine in this territory by combining tradition and innovation. The tradition lies in the care of the vines and land, focusing on the most challenging plots yet simultaneously the most suited to viticulture, and choosing, among other things, to produce Chianti Classico using only native Tuscan grape varieties. Innovation was pursued first and foremost through the creation of the first experimental vineyard in Chianti in collaboration with the University of Milan, led by Professor Attilio Scienza, and with the University of Florence, to carry out the first scientific selection of Sangiovese clones. Another innovation was the introduction of the barrique.

This Chianti Classico, vintage 2017, is made with 90% Sangiovese grapes with a complement of Canaiolo, another native Tuscan variety. The vineyard sits at 350–400 metres above sea level on calcareous soil, trained to guyot, with a planting density of 3,500 vines per hectare. Harvest takes place in October and the yield per hectare is 60 quintals. In the cellar, vinification is carried out in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks where malolactic fermentation also takes place. After racking, the wine is aged in wood – barrique and 5-hectolitre casks – for seven months, and after bottling it rests for a further seven months in bottle before being released for sale.

A wine of deep ruby red colour, a clear sign of youth. Over time the colour will slowly shift towards the warmer garnet tones. Swirling the glass, dense, thick arches form on its walls with a slowly descending drop – a sign that the wine is structured and alcoholic. On the nose we immediately perceive a floral scent of violet, followed by fruit: fresh red fruit, cherry, blackberry, forest berries – aromas that highlight the wine's youth. In time we will notice more prominently the notes of jam from these red fruits. After the fruity notes emerge the spicy hints of cinnamon and vanilla, then a toasted coffee note, leather, and liquorice on the finish. On the palate the wine is dry and warm; there is a certain roughness, a sign of a great tannin that only time will render silky. Beautiful freshness that makes us salivate. The finish is long on balsamic and liquorice notes, with great coherence between nose and palate.

A classic Chianti Classico, perfect with roasts but also versatile – worth trying with pasta dishes in sauce and throughout the meal.