Avignonesi

Another beautiful day.....this time visiting a beautiful wine farm between Cortona and Montepulciano....going by the name Avignonesi. They have various options to see the wine farm including; tasting only, tour of winefarm and lunch pairing, tour of winefarm and tasting.....we had three boys and Sofia with us....so we opted for the winefarm tour and tasting of four wines.

As you drive into the winefarm it is the typical Tuscan setting, cyprus trees on both sides, just so breath-taking....and of course the vines....beautiful. Once we arrived we were explained a little about Avignonesi....

The winery is named after the Avignonesi family, the founders of the original estate.

Constant research and development aimed at expressing the true character of the Montepulciano terroir has, over time, earned the winery a well-deserved place among the flagship producers of Tuscany.

In 2009, Avignonesi was acquired by Virginie Saverys who has since introduced organic and biodynamic farming methods to craft distinct, genuine wines with an even stronger character, and has acquired additional vineyards and a state-of-the-art winemaking facility in the Montepulciano appellation.

They believe that the life force of the earth and the uniqueness of their terroir are at the heart of their brand. Avignonesi is reborn from the soil of their vineyards with each vintage in wines that mirror the subtle flavours of the site and the special traits of each year. Their wines express the richness and beauty of the Montepulciano territory. They respect the heritage of Montepulciano, where Sangiovese wines have been produced for centuries, and they wish to contribute to its future by being the finest representative of its heritage that it can be.

She also explained that they did an experiement....they planted the vines in 8 half circles...meaning...the furthest in, the vines are much closer to each other than the 8th, outer, half circle.....they wanted to check which half circle produced the best wine....more dense planting or less dense planting.....and the outcome was not what they expected....in fact, the best wine was produced from the densest circle...why...cause the roots have more competition to get water from the ground, they have to work harder at getting the water....i thought that was rather interesting....time to share a few pics...

The star vineyard

Vine

After that we went into the cellar where they are aging their vin santo.....she said that their vin santo stays in the barrel for 10 years.....they produce two different ones....and we were even allowed to try them at our tasting...that was extra cause they normally do not include them. Let me share some pics....

Vin santo cellar

Ben, Rick and Rasmus in the vin santo cellar

Trebbiano and Malvasia grape

Sangiovese grape

The last part of the tour we were allowed to see where they dry the grapes...have a look...

Drying racks not in use

Drying racks in use

After our tour...it was time to taste the wines....

Tasting sheet

So now...the verdict....the first one we tried was the white wine (their only white wine), as you can see from above it was a Chardonnay...it was ok...nothing special....next up was the Grifi, a Toscana IGT, it has 1/2 its grapes from the Cortona vineyard and 1/2 from the Montepulciano....not too bad....but again...for me nothing special.....next up....Grandi Annate vino nobile di montepulciano....this is aged in a small barrel....100% sangiovese grape....nice....but the first red wine...i did prefer....very dark in colour. Last one 50&50 the name comes because it is 50% grapes from Avignonesi vineyard and 50% from another vineyard...again...it was ok...nothing special for me....for me..the prices do not justify the taste.

Afterwards we asked them whether it was possible to try their "cheapest wine", which is €19.00....it is also a vino nobile montepulciano but it is aged in a large barrel.....this...funny enough was ALL our favourite....i still believe the price is not justified...but i guess it is because of the biodynamic and the organic. They then offered us a glass of each of the vin santo to share...wow...they were really thick...i was very surprised...like a balsamic reduction.....rather strange...i have not tasted vin santo like that before...and i guess i would never be able to finish a glass...way too thick and sweet...and pirces....oh my word....a 375ml bottle either €210 for the lighter one and €340 for the sangiovese one....holy moly. Here another pic of the vin santo bottles....

Vin santo

All in all....we had a really nice afternoon at the Avignonesi wine farm....really worth a visit....we All enjoyed it...and i must say the lady who did the tour did an excellent job and you could really feel her passion. This was our first winefarm visit here in the tuscany and i do hope one of many more.....now....time for bed again....i guess you have realised...i seem to be writing these blogs at night...main reason...Sofia is now 9 months...and a very active bee...so i get "me time" at night...when she is sleeping......but now it is time for me to sleep....goodnight.

 

Posted with Blogsy