Luci di Napoli visited to share a little wisdom, the history of Castello dei Rampolla and a delicious suite of vino. Enjoy!
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Wow! Talk about personality. Many in Chianti just can’t get the blend with Cab and Merlot right. Castello dei Rampole are smashing it.
“There is plenty to like in these new releases from Castello dei Rampolla. Two thousand seventeen was a rough year. Frost in May, hail in August, and hot, dry conditions during the rest of the season had the cumulative effect of reducing the crop by 50%. Rampolla releases their top wines later than most so the current vintage for the dual flagships Sammarco and d’Alceo is 2015. Both wines are incredibly pure and nuanced. Readers will find an unusually open Sammarco in 2015 because of higher percentage of Merlot than has been the norm here. Sustainable farming, minimal intervention in the cellar and great dirt result in some of the most compelling wines of Tuscany, and the world, for that matter.” Antonio Galloni
The di Napoli family has owned Rampolla since 1739. Alceo di Napoli inherited the estate in 1965. At the time, Rampolla was essentially a summer residence. Wheat, olive trees and other mixed crops were cultivated, but there were no vineyards. “Alceo di Napoli was a man of extraordinary humility,” Piero Antinori told me recently. “He loved the land. After seeing the potential of the vineyards, we helped him get started and bought some of the first grapes off the property. We were very close in the early days.”
In 1975, Rampolla began making and bottling their own wines under the guidance of legendary oenologist Giacomo Tachis, whose influence is still widely felt. Tragically, Alceo di Napoli passed away unexpectedly in 1991. Di Napoli’s second son, Luca, returned to the estate in 1994 and today manages the property alongside his sister, Maurizia.
PS We left a little conversation in at the end as Luca shared his thoughts on how to handle and drink the wines.
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