FABBRICA DI SAN MARTINO
Fabbrica Rosso 2018
Tuscany, Italy
This comes from vines Beppe planted from massale cuttings of Sangiovese at the turn of the century, blended with a little of the old vines Colorino and Canaiolo from the Arcipressi vineyard. The grapes were destemmed and spent a week on skins, and were aged for year in big old casks and three years in bottle before release. This is as old-school as Sangiovese gets, with black cherry, balsamic and woodsy notes making for a soulful and soothing take on the grape.
Sangiovese, Colorino, Canaiolo
ABOUT THE PRODUCER
The Fabbrica di San Martino was founded in 1735 in the hills outside of the town of Lucca.
Having run one of Lucca’s favourite trattorias for many years, Beppe Ferrua began tending the vines here several decades ago and without any formal training, set about learning by working alongside and watching carefully the contadini who had looked after the land for many years.
A twenty hectare property surrounded by woodland, the two and a half hectares of vines are exposed south and sit within an area of great biological diversity. 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 a picturesque setting, the vines share pride of place with a seventeenth century villa, ancient olive trees, cows and donkeys.
In the farm’s tiny cantina, Beppe does the simple things well, producing decidedly old-fashioned wines full of soul, purity and sense of place. One of the most passionate and intuitive cooks we know, it comes as little surprise that his wines make so much sense on the table, having a real affinity with Tuscany’s rich cuisine.