FABBRICA DI SAN MARTINO
Arcipressi 2021
Tuscany, Italy
From the Fabbrica’s original vineyard planted over clay and limestone, one of the most remarkable we have ever stepped foot in. Though less than a hectare, the seventy year old parcel is home to over a dozen native varietals with an ancient olive tree at its heart. This is a true field blend and the grapes are handpicked at once and fermented together for a week on their skins, before being pressed off to vat for a short rest. Bottled young, it is the kind of vibrant, perfumed red wine that one can drink with gusto, day and night.
Aleatico, Colorino, Canaiolo, Malvasia Nera, Sangiovese, Local Varieties
ABOUT THE PRODUCER
The Fabbrica di San Martino was founded in 1735 in the hills outside of the town of Lucca. A twenty hectare property surrounded by woodland, its two and a half hectares of vines are exposed full south and sit within an area of great biological diversity.
Having run one of Lucca’s favourite trattorie for many years, Giuseppe Ferrua began tending the vines here some 20 years ago.
Without any formal training, Beppe learnt by working alongside and watching carefully the ageing contadini who had looked after the land for many years. Having discovered that the vineyards had never been subject to chemicals, he decided to continue this way of farming, later converting the farm to biodynamics.
In the cantina Beppe does the simple things well and employs no tricks or tomfoolery. As is so often the case, a healthy vineyard yields healthy wines and the thing that struck us about these when visiting the area was their purity and drinkability, two characteristics that are sadly missing from a lot of wines in Toscana today.