Villa Saletta Giulia 2019
£52.45
The wine
Wonderful aromatic charm. The bouquet opens with spice and toasted oak fused with berry fruit, liquorice and violet. The palate is full and supple, elegant throughout, with a sweet aftertaste of ripe red berry fruit and hints of dark chocolate and tobacco.
Giulia is a Bordeaux blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc with no Sangiovese at all, which places it firmly in the Supertuscan tradition. The two Cabernets are parent and offspring: Cabernet Sauvignon is a natural crossing of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc, identified by DNA analysis in 1996.
The producer
Villa Saletta
View all Villa Saletta winesVilla Saletta lies in the Pisan hills at Palaia, and the estate is documented as far back as the tenth century; the surrounding hamlet is medieval. It fell into disrepair in the twentieth century and was bought in 2000 by the Hands family, who have spent two decades restoring both the buildings and the vineyards.
This is not classic Chianti country. The Pisan hills lie west of the famous zones, closer to the coast and warmer, which is why Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot ripen here as reliably as Sangiovese. The estate has leaned into that rather than fighting it, and the top wines are Bordeaux varieties made in a Tuscan setting.
Everything is farmed organically, and the vineyards were entirely replanted rather than inherited, which allowed the family to match variety to soil from the outset. The wines carry family names, and 980, a varietal Cabernet Franc, refers to the year the estate first appears in the historical record.
