Every-Day-Wine from around the world.
Every-Day-Wine from around the world.
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A Tour of Castello Del Trebbio  Castello
del Trebbio was built as a fortress in the twelfth
century for the Pazzi family. Its fame is due to
the "Pazzi Conspiracy", a plot organized
by the Pazzi family in 1478 to kill their old
enemies Giuliano and Lorenzo de' Medici. In the
fifteenth century ownership transferred to the
Medici family who converted it into a villa. The
current family purchased it in 1968 and have
restored it respecting its history. The estate
comprises about 60 hectares of grapes, 10.000
olive trees and native forest, a total of 350
hectares. A tour of the castle and the old wine
cellars with wine and olive oil tasting is
possible for groups with reservation. Also part of the estate are
apartments for rent by tourists.
Besides the castle and vineyards, the property includes a private chapel, and small adjoining kitchen. An unusual fact is that some people are buried here, something not normally done on private grounds. The local authority gave the children permission to do this. Inside the chapel was a painting from Andrea del Castagno (XVth century) sold by the last owners before the current owners came. The original frame of the painting is still in the chapel. The tour of the cellars was hosted by Alberto, and we highly recommend this estate for anyone in the Florence area. Alberto's description of the estate, the products produced, and historical knowledge are exemplary. Although Trebbio is a small winery, the tour is fascinating and the wines we sampled were excellent (for sale at very reasonable prices). The cellars have a lovely aroma of wine and grapes, plus they produce outstanding olive oil that is pure Tuscan. Pure Tuscan means that the entire production and all the olives are local. Due to the very hot, dry summer the harvest this year was 2 weeks early. But the grapes are smaller and intense, so the 2003 vintage should be outstanding. The bad news is that the olive harvest was 35-40% below normal. In the old tradition, Trebbio still does all the picking by hand.
We highly suggest you visit the Castle del Trebbio on your next visit to Tuscany. Tours can be arranged ahead of time through their website, or by contacting them by e-mail. Many of the area hotels can arrange a visit also. If you do go, watch out for their "ghost" know as Mario. He has been working at the castle for 50 years, and reportedly still roams the grounds. Be sure to ask about him and hear the whole story. Tell them WineNews.com sent you.
For more information please visit their website:
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The
cellars date from 1184, with the newest part of
the castle being the courtyard that is about 600
years old. The the current owners' parents
bought the castle in 1968, and after 20 years restoration, both
passed away between 1988 and 1990. Only 2 of the 5 children decided
to keep the estate and the castle. One of them, Anna, lives in
the castle with her husband
Stefano, the winemaker of the company,
along with their 3 young children. Anna is responsible for the wine
marketing, and for the olive oil and saffron production.
The
wine production of Trebbio is about 300,000
bottles per year. Of that, about 11,000
bottles are Super Tuscan, a blend of 50%
sangiovese, 35% merlot, and 15% syrah. They
have named this special blend "Pazzesco"
after the Pazzi family (loosely translated means
"that's crazy"). The balance of
the production includes a DOCG Chianti, a Chianti
Rufina Reserva, and oak aged Vin
Santo.
The special wines (Chianti Rufina Riserva and
Pazzesco) are aged for about 14 months in french
barriques, special oak barrels used for maximum 3
years and then about 20 months in big oak
barrels. All varieties we sampled were
excellent, especially for the price, and the Vin
Santo was nice and dry.
