In 1974 Giuseppe Castiglioni realized his dream: to produce great wines, in the heart of Chianti Classico, using both autochthonous and international grapes, stimulated in this by the progressive affirmation, also in Italy, of the great wines of Bordeaux. Between the ’80s and ’90s his son Sebastiano, once inherited the reins of the company, while continuing in the paternal direction, expands his vision with the accession to the organic regime and, subsequently (2000), to the biodynamic, organic and vegan.
The estate now covers 100 hectares and includes among its wines true oenological icons, recognized as such in Italy and abroad, such as the Camartina, the Palafreno and, last but not least, the Batàr. The latter undoubtedly represents one of the most important white wines of the entire peninsula, the original white Supertuscan of which Hugh Johnson had to say as “a dream of a white” and Jancis Robinson as the “most ambitious Pinot Blanc outside of Burgundy”. Produced since 1988, Batàr is a blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Blanc from the vineyards Casocci Sud and Pallonaio (Chardonnay) and on the slopes adjacent to the cellar (Pinot Bianco), with an average altitude that, starting from 350 meters above sea level, reaches 600 meters. It is a wine with a very low yield per hectare (25 hectolitres), whose grapes undergo microvinification for individual lots of vineyards, ferment separately spontaneously, with indigenous yeast, in barrique and, equally separately, aged for 9 months in barriques, before being assembled and end the aging in bottle for 6 months.
The 2016 vintage has a straw yellow color tending to golden, and a range of aromas that start with delicious woody notes of overripe white melon, dried apricot, mango and chamomile, followed by candied citron, caramel, wildflower honey, hawthorn, with concluding echoes of saffron, burnt bone and matchstik. The mouthfeel is immediately striking for its great softness and sapidity, with a slight touch of pepper and a balsamic freshness gently whispered; all enriched by the retro-olfactory return of boisée, tropical fruit and burnt bone that persist for a long time even after an exceptional length closure.
Rating: 94/100
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