(01) Castello di Albola / Albola Castle

“It is properly called Albola, a slope known for its vineyards, from which you may get the best wines of Chianti” notes Emanuele Repetti in 1841, in his Dizionario Fisico geografico del Granducato di Toscana.

 

We meet right here, among the highest hills of Chianti Classico, in a townlet that has its roots in the Middle Ages and accompanies the life of some of the most noble Florentine families, from the Acciaiuoli to the Samminiati, through the Pazzi up to the Counts Ginori. We are curious to know more about the current set-up at Castello di Albola well as its attractive offering for receptions and tastings and are met by the director Alessandro Gallo.

Piedmontese by birth, a Turin chemistry graduate but ‘with wine in his blood’, Alessandro Gallo comes from a family of wine producers. The desire to return to that world could not be answered better than at this place: for sixteen years he has been the director of the Tenuta [land holding] and vineyards of the Casello di Albola and, since 2016, also of Rocca di Montemassi, in the Maremma winemaking properties of the Zonin family.

They have been sixteen years of progress and renewal of the immense area of vineyards, which extend for about 130 hectares of the 900 of the total holding (and therefore with great biodiversity), with important works of replacing old vines and with the addition of a new Chardonnay vineyard ‘Poggio alle Fate’ and one of Cabernet Sauvignon from which comes the Super Toscano wine Acciaiolo IGT.

Alongside the production of Chianti Classico Annata [Vintage], the and Riserva [Reserve] and the Gran Selezione [Special Selection] Single Vineyard wines ‘Santa Caterina’, ‘Solatio’ and ‘Marangole’, “with a high content of authenticity, identity and purity” explains Gallo.

Wines with different characteristics, all with strong personalities, marked by the stoniness of the terrain and the altitude, which gives freshness, charge and acidity.

But let’s get to the tastings: we can opt for a standard tasting formula, which includes a guided tour of a vineyard and the tasting of four wines in addition to extra virgin olive oil (at a cost of €15). If you prefer a more meaningful experience choose the ‘Albola Experience’, in which the four wines for tasting are combined with as many courses, to enjoy the full combination of wine and food (at a cost of €30).

Since hospitality is the pride of this great wine estate, the hospitality options are many and fully customisable. And in fact you can book a guided tour to the wonderful Albola cellars, order a vertical tasting with wines from very varied vintages or simply savour the poetry of these places at the Wine Bar, with a menu of glasses of wine and dishes, or even attend a cooking class or be pampered with a private lunch or dinner in a truly exclusive setting.

All tastings and visits are conducted in Italian, English, French, German, Spanish and Flemish.

The Castello di Albola is an enchanted place, eternally suspended between history and legend. A very special place to encounter a Sangiovese of rare elegance, exemplary in understanding how important, as well as delicate, the hand of man has been in the making of this extraordinary area.

 

Info and tastings:

Castello di Albola s.arl ., Via Pian d’Albola 31, Radda in Chianti (Si)

Telephone:  +39 (0) 577 738019

Email:  info@albola.it

Website:  www.albola.it