Candialle, one of Tuscany’s up and coming estates, is located 20km south of Florence along the Via Chiantigiana – the famous route that leads through the hills and vineyards of the Chianti Classico DOCG to Siena. Owned by Josephin Cramer and Jarkko Peränen, Candialle’s vineyards are nestled below the historic village of Panzano in Chianti in the famous Conca d’Oro, the valley of the ‘Golden Shell’, long considered Tuscany’s ‘grand cru’. The vines here benefit from the valley’s micro climate and natural wide open spaces. The soil composition, high in Galestro – a marl-like soil – with a small amount of Albarese limestone, is a combination of Tuscany’s finest. Josephin and Jarkko take a holistic approach to their ‘agroecosystem’, employing environmentally friendly cultivation methods to strictly control yields, essential factors in ensuring the uniqueness of Candialle wines.
There are less than 12 hectares under vine and they make two Chianti Classicos. La Misse, the Little Miss of Candialle, is the second selection wine of the estate. Aged mostly in concrete, it retains Sangiovese’s typical juicy cherry fruit and refreshing acidity.
The flagship wine of Candialle is an impressive contemporary expression of Sangiovese and the Conca d’Oro terroir. Made as others would a Riserva, although not labelled as such, it is aged 18 months in barrique (no new wood). This is a stylish, concentrated wine with perfumed black cherry fruit, the palate structured and elegant with crunchy acidity and fine tannins.