A few kilometres from the sea international varieties have found a great habitat
Maremma is surely one of the most chatting Italian denominations at the moment. Why? A constant interest was shown by the biggest Chianti Classico wineries which first invested in land and over time contributed to the increase in the volume of the bottled and to increase the quality level of the same.
Maremma is a young Doc that allows vinifying many grapes, born in 2011, has already reached the 7th position in the ranking of Tuscan appellations.
With a + 16% compared to 2020 (compared to + 10% of all the other Tuscan denominations) it covers 9,066 hectares of vineyards in the province of Grosseto and here 2,364 are claimed to Doc Maremma Toscana in the last harvest; numbers that put it in 3rd place, compared to the claimed vineyard area, behind the big Chianti and Chianti Classico. In the last year Mareamma reached 51 thousand hectoliters touching the 7 million bottles produced. By working on the appellation and raising awareness among producers, this result could be tripled without losing sight of the terroir and what the wines tell about it.
Alongside the approximately one thousand four hundred hectares of popular Morellino di Scansano, Maremma production epicentre is that of the Province of Grosseto, a few kilometres from the sea: it is precisely here that the soul of this territory resides, made of wild nature, small bays, roads often dirt roads that take you to expanses of vineyards from which to admire the Argentario. It should therefore not be surprising if alongside more historic wineries or winemakers who give grapes to cooperatives there are many young projects, made up of families or couples who, dazzled by the landscape and the air, have decided to stop here and focus on wine tourism, and obviously on wine. Starting then from Grosseto, the main vineyard areas are located to the south (Magliano, Scansano, Manciano) and further inland to Sorano while to the north, Castigione della Pescaia, Gavorrano and Follonica.
To protect wine production the current Consortium, founded in 2014, includes 215 winegrowers, a bottler and 106 companies that take care of the entire production process. The most planted varieties, in addition to Sangiovese and Vermentino, are Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot, followed by Trebbiano, Syrah, Chardonnay and Ansonica, Ciliegiolo, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc, the last two in great expansion, confirming how these lands create a habitat ideal for international grapes. And the data speak for themselves: in ten years the areas planted with Sangiovese have remained almost intact, unlike the others which in many cases have doubled for a bottling that faithfully follows this development. 60.38% of the wines are red, 35.45% white and 4.17% of the rosé wines, the latter very popular on the market, close the cake. In short, on paper, we are facing a good case of success, considering the results achieved in such a short time that it can only be told by tasting some wines produced in soils characterized mostly by the presence of terraced dunes and lagoon areas on alluvial deposits, with silty-clayey deposits in the Grossetto area (closer to the sea), while more marly and clayey if we move inland and in hills of a medium slope.
Podere San Cristoforo
A smart and marvellous project, the architecture of the winery has to be seen; it takes a long way to reach it because it‘s not visible from Gavoranno village. Once get there is a kind of oasis; labels are certified organic and suitable for vegans, made by the enologist Lorenzo Zonin who believes in and follows biodynamic methods. All the wines are shiny, speaking about style some sips remind some Burgundian one with freshness, tension, crispy and salty after taste, very deep and neat like the Petit Verdot 2019 IGT (34€)
Azienda Bruni
Led by two brothers, Marco and Moreno Bruni, in the area close to Fonteblanda, Orbetello, this winery has been built and expanded over time up to 60 hectares today. Almost five hundred bottles enhance the features of Maremma in a style modern, prodigal in which Perlaia Maremma IGT (18€) made by 80% Vermentino and 20% Viognier has become one of the iconic white wines of the area: salty, rich, very round and silky.
Cupirosso
In the small village of Cupi, close to Magliano at the borders of Uccellina Natural Park, a young and boutique winery born in 2018 still makes marvellous wines in just three hectares. A project was born by the meeting of the journalist Irene de Gasparis and his future husband Christian Mouthuy. The cellar has been studied to be highly efficient from the energy point of view. Many of the stainless steel vats are insulated to be energy efficient. The bottles are lightweight and recycled, and the wines are of course organic: Top of the line is Maremma Toscana Doc Audace (12€) a 100% Vermentino made with three different clones, the sip is impressive, huge, salty and creamy in the after taste driven by a nice acidity.
Fattoria Il Casalone
A beautiful farm, spread on different levels of the hill in front of Argentario. The estate covers around twenty hectares in Orbetello area, into the production involved Vermentino, Sangiovese, Cabernet franc, Cabernet sauvignon, Viognier and Petit Verdot. Blending the international varieties born Poggio Colombi Maremma Toscana Doc (14€): after a six months in barrique the wine is very elegant, spicy, and fibrous but equipped by high acidity.
Poggio Cagnano
Surrounded by the steep heels (500 meters above the sea) in Manciano, Alessandro Gobetti lead its small bonbonnière; he made in five organic hectares three kinds of Vermentino (vinified in amphora and cement, plus oneamusing ancestral method) and beside them, the reds Sangiovese and Cabernet Sauvignon. Selvoso Maremma Toscana Doc (18€) is a blend of Ciliegiolo and Sangiovese, which shows a floral and balsamic bouquet, a silky and pleasant fruit with crispy tannins. A sip of plenty of energy and vitality.
Capua Winery
The winery is located in the valley in direction of Saturnia, six hectares organic in conversion at 300 meters above the sea-made wines full-bodied, powerful and solid. The vines planted around the modern winery are Sangiovese, Chardonnay, Alicante, Cabernet franc, Merlot and Petit verdot; in the cellar, all are focused on the varietal using barrique and tonneaux and oak barrels. The Maremma Toscana Rosso DOC “Fiammante” 2017 (22€) shows a magnificent profile, deep aromas of red fruits, shirts of wood still present but prolonged the sip enhancing a vibrant tension, freshness and concentration of the fruits.
by Erika Montovan
