This Chianti Rùfina is the pillar of Selvapiana’s production, using primarily Sangiovese with small contributions from traditional blending partners Canaiolo, Colorino, and Malvasia Nera. This wine is an excellent example of the finesse and crispness the Rùfina subzone of Chianti delivers.

Bucerchiale is Selvapiana’s flagship wine, a Riserva-level Chianti Rùfina crafted from the grapes of the estate’s best vineyard, Bucerchiale. Francesco Giuntini, working with young winemaker Franco Bernabei on his second vintage at Selvapiana, created this special wine to be a long-aging benchmark of the best of Rùfina’s and Selvapiana’s Sangiovese. The wine is not a blend, as is normal with Chianti, but rather is pure Sangiovese to show that variety without any adornment by other blending components. First produced in 1979, Bucerchiale is made in only the best vintages, seven or eight times per decade and celebrates its 40th anniversary with the 2019 vintage.  

In 1997 the Giuntini family was offered a parcel of land in Pontessieve, one of the five municipalities where Chianti Rufina can be produced.  From 1993 - 1997 Selvapiana rented a parcel just next to the vineyard so they knew the potential of the area, were excited about a new opportunity to grow Sangiovese there and jumped at the opportunity to purchase the land. In 1999 they planted six hectares to Sangiovese (massal selection from the Bucerchiale vineyard), a few older Tuscan native varieties and olive trees, all of which have been cultivated organically since day one.  They waited until 2016 when the vines had reached a good age and and the vintage was exceptional to release the first offering of this wine.  

Fornace is Selvapiana’s Super Tuscan wine, based entirely on Bordeaux grape varieties—Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc—grown on the estate.

In the hills above the Sieve River valley, where Selvapiana and the rest of Chianti Rùfina are located, is a serene pine forest that holds the secret vineyards of Pomino DOC, owned by just two estates. Thanks to the friendship of Francesco Giuntini with the owner of Villa Petrognano, Cecilia Galeotti Ottieri, Selvapiana has had the opportunity to farm the villa’s 13-acre plot for many years. The cool, higher ground here on the border between Tuscany and Emilia Romagna produces cool-climate fruit and delightfully crisp red wines. The Villa Petrognano vineyards are planted with Sangiovese, along with a significant amount of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, which are blended into this modern yet tradition-respecting wine.

Vin Santo is one of those Old World wines that no modern winemaker would ever imagine making if the concept hadn’t been devised and proven centuries ago. Taking perfectly good grapes, drying them out for a few months until they become raisins, sealing them up in a little barrel, and then waiting several years to see if anything drinkable comes out . . . is not what they teach in enology classes today. Nevertheless, whether by accident or on purpose, people did it long ago, and the result if you do it right turns out to be a delicious unctuous sweet wine called Vin Santo. These wines are made all over Tuscany, but one of the best places to do it is here in the Rùfina subzone of Vin Santo del Chianti DOC.