IPOGEO

IPOGEO 2024

Region: Italy, Tuscany

Grape: Sangiovese, Cabernet, Merlot, Syrah

Color: Red

Tuscany's leading natural Chianti producer

This is a winery I have loved for many years.
Castellina produces Chianti that is rustic, gently drinkable, and utterly delightful.
With even fresher fruit than Chianti, it's a light medium-bodied wine that slips down easily. It's a bottle I highly recommend even for those who are not very familiar with Italian wines.

Ipogeo means "underground" or "beneath the earth". This wine represents not only the visible surface of the earth but also a consideration for the life and ecosystem of the earth.
Aged for 8 months in separate stainless steel and cement tanks. After blending, it is bottled and aged for another 10 months in the bottle.

[Producer Information]

Gradually adopting natural farming methods since 1999, they fully transitioned to biodynamic farming in 2004.
The purpose is to pass on the crops produced from this land to the next generation.
Grapes, chestnut groves, wheat, olives, various Mediterranean plants...
How can all nature and humans live together hand-in-hand forever?
After much deliberation, they arrived at biodynamic farming.
Additionally, Ivan Chirico, a comrade who long supported the farm with Fabio, has become independent.
Fabio himself takes on a supportive role, now managing the farm with his daughter Eleonora and son Francesco.

Their great achievements in the Chianti region, where genuine natural winemakers are very few, were recognized, and they were selected as the sole "Winery of the Year" and highest-ranked in the 2009 Italian BIO Wine Guide.
Recently, they haven't even participated in exhibitions.

When listening to him, there is surprisingly little talk about winemaking.
He says, "Winemaking is grape growing. Field work is 90%. So there's almost nothing to do in the winery."
The total area of the farm is 110ha. Various plants are mixed, such as chestnut groves, olives, grapes, and Mediterranean-specific plants. All the fields are surrounded by forests, creating a natural environment where chemical elements cannot intrude. Therefore, practicing biodynamic farming is relatively easy.
All fields face south, and the soil is soft and sandy, like a beach.

Although it is 50km to the port town of Diborna, it is said that these fields were all sea several hundred years ago.
The top of the hill is named Pietramarina, 'Sea Stone', and indeed there are many rocks in the fields,
whale fossils are said to be found nearby.

His field work, having practiced biodynamic farming for many years, is indeed,
both specialized and very logical, making it all convincing.

① Grapes inherently seek nutrients themselves, so if humans provide nutrients, they stop seeking and it's not good. It's the same as how domesticated animals cannot survive if returned to the wild.

② Preparation 501 plays a role in blocking sunlight.
Since it's not needed in this area with a lot of silica, they use 500 (plants stuffed into cow horns) instead.

③ Red flowers (crimson clover) have the property of spreading their roots widely underground and play a role in fixing nitrogen in the soil. The state of these flowers indicates the balance between the power of the stars and the power of the earth.
・Small stems, short roots growing upwards → Deep connection with the sky.
・Thick stems, roots spreading horizontally → Deep connection with the earth.

④ Farm work is done not according to the phases of the moon, but according to "the distance between the moon and the earth."
When close, they work on soil and roots; when far, they work on branches, leaves, and fruits.


Instead of following natural farming theories, they incorporate what is needed from years of experience and adapt flexibly. And they incorporate things that give power to the land. They never force nature or distort it unnecessarily.
The fields surrounded by natural forests, the gentle breeze from the Tyrrhenian Sea, the complex aroma of herbs, and the scent of the sea. This environment is precisely the result of Fabio's approach of listening to the voice of the fields.