By Simone Bandini
The initials P64 are a bit like a martial code: what is certain is that in these two new bottles, a Sangiovese and a Cabernet in purity, the production rigor and precision in the cellar of the Ravazzi family – which has been producing wines since the 50s – are condensed. These two new wines evoke an important history, especially that of Sangiovese which is rooted in the peasant history of Tuscany – and which are projected towards the future thanks to a great Cabernet Sauvignon, a grape variety that has already conquered the world.
“It is a project that is now a few years old – begins the patron Alberto Ravazzi – which has seen ups and downs and numerous, subsequent methodological choices. They are wines made from important selections and heterogeneous productions. For this reason, we have selected five barriques per type of wine. The origin of the wood is decisive, it must be harmoniously identifiable too”.
We are sitting at the elegant café of the Terme di Fonteverde: a barely warm spring light filters through the windows, giving the rigid shades of blue to the sky. It creates an aura of magical suspension between us and the Ravazzi family. We were also joined by his wife Roberta and daughter Martina, the female souls of the winery. We chose this place to meet and take photos for its historical and landscape value that identify a territory: the same hills where the P64 vineyards lie and where the ancestral land and the clan spirit of its people are mixed.
These wines represent a restart, the beginning of a new cycle, thanks to the rediscovery of two exemplary and archetypal single-varietals: “P64 is nothing more than the parcel where some family vineyards are located. It represents the place where I spent my afternoons as a child and where I met old winemakers, great vine experts, who passed on to me the passion for the land; I saw the passing of seasons, leaves changing colour and grapes growing”.
A very strong symbolic bond that mixes land and blood with a powerful alchemy of wines, a myth that becomes reality, life, identity: “That particular vineyard for me has always represented a place of inner peace that urges me to reconnect with the Earth. Always. And it has always given incredible fruits, grapes capable of generating wines of great taste”, continues Alberto.
The moment we are living in is the scene of great political and costume upheavals, it is there for all to see. So, what are the effects and repercussions on the wine trade? We are curious to know his opinion: “From a strategic point of view, we need to invest and innovate, interpret the new trends of a market in turmoil, especially the American one where strategic assets have changed and where we deal with about 10% of our turnover. For the United States, in fact, the P64 will be a workhorse as the ‘Prezioso’ was. To shuffle the cards and create great confusion, moreover, there was the introduction of dealcoholized wines …”.
The main audience for the wines of Cantine Ravazzi remains Europe with, in the lead, Switzerland, Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands: “Importers appreciated our effort to define and sublimate our identity in the P64” – we recall that the wines were presented on November 28, 2024 at a major event right here in Fonteverde, on Alberto’s 60th birthday.
The feeling is that of a circle that opens, which is about to be traced: “Everything was born with the help of the oenologist Andrea Bernardini who brought his knowledge together with his and our experience”, on the other hand oenology is a science, it requires study, method and theoretical rigor. Think of epochal changes such as, for example, ‘cold’ winemaking implemented thanks to technology, which once would have been unthinkable.
And how to deal with climate change? “It is a great variable – he replies – that cannot be totally controlled. Think of the upward deviation in temperatures, drought and sudden, explosive torrential rains. We remember, in recent years, a 2014 that was too rainy and a 2023 cursed by downy mildew. Every year is different and it is impossible to establish a protocol. Certainly there was once greater climatic stability”.
The upcoming spring will be an important testing ground for the new P64 and for the other wines of the Ravazzi family: in fact, the season of tastings managed by Martina and Roberta begins, which we warmly invite you to try to fully experience the authentic spirit of this land and the hospitality of the Ravazzi family.
Info: Cantine Ravazzi, Via delle Cantine 2/4/6, Fraz. Palazzone, San Casciano dei Bagni (Siena)Tel: +39 0578 56008 / www.ravazzi.it / info@ravazzi.it
