Italy

Poggio ArgentierA

Banditella

Winemakers: Gianpaolo Paglia & Fabrizio Moltard

In 1997, Gianpaolo Paglia and Justine Keeling purchased a run-down property in the appellation of Morellino di Scansano in Tuscany's Maremma. The couple were ideally suited to the renovation task at hand – Gianpaolo was a qualified agronomist specialising in plant genetics and Justine a former wine marketing manager. The property is comprised of two estates: 'Podere Adua', close to the Maremma National Park, and 'Podere Keeling' in the hilly area to the north of the Scansano region, towards Monte Amiata. Podere Adua's 14 hectares of vines are planted close to the coastline on free-draining, sandy-limey soil that receives the full heat of the Mediterranean and very little rain. Podere Keeling is a newly planted 10 hectare vineyard on hilly terrain with rich clay soil and a cooler climate. Combined, the total surface area is 68 hectares with 24 under vine.

Winemaking and maturation is carried out at Podere Adua and the consultant oenologist is Fabrizio Moltard. The three local red varieties planted are Sangiovese ('Morellino' is the name of the local clone), Alicante and Ciliegiolo, along with Montepulciano, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Shiraz.

Bellamarsilia, the signature wine, is an oak-free blend of 85% Morellino, 10% Ciliegiolo and 5% Alicante and exhibits the wild, briary fruit flavours of the Maremma with notes of liquorice and chocolate. Capatosta, Italian slang for stubborn, is an old vine selection of the best Sangiovese (95%) and Alicante (5%), fermented in old open top barriques and aged in a combination of new and old Allier barriques, resulting in a full-bodied, elegant blockbuster.

Visit the wine-maker's website

Wines
Morellino di Scansano DOCG 'Bellamarsilia'
Morellino di Scansano DOCG Riserva 'Capatosta'