Castelnuovo Berardenga. Wednesday 08/11-September-2026.
- London, England. Thursday/Wednesday 28 August/02-September-2026.
- Frankfurt, Germany. Wednesday/Thursday 02/03-September-2026.
- Nuremberg, Germany. Thursday/Sunday 03/06-September-2026.
- Milan, Italy. Sunday/Wednesday 06/08-September-2026.
- Castelnuovo Berardenga. Wednesday 08/10-September-2026.
- More to follow…
Intro.
The whole reason for this stop was the wine, Felsina Berardenga, Mary's favourite Chianti which she first bought from the Wine Society back in 2013.
Wednesday 08-September-2026.
It was a long trip from Milan: Milan to Florence; Florence to Siena; Siena to Castelnuovo Berardenga. There is no train option for the last leg so we were looking at either getting our hosts to pick us up, an expensive taxi ride or catching a bus. The local bus company app was not showing anything useful but Google maps assured us that the 170 and the 134R ran the route.
In the end the bus option came through for us with a last minute panic - we boarded the wrong bus and only discovered literally as the correct bus was leaving. Mary had to jump off and flag the driver down as I staggered behind with the cases! Collapsed in a sweaty heap and we were off.
Arrived at 5pm and put a wash load on. Relaxed until it was done, hung it on the rack then out for supper.
Ate local at Bengodi restaurant where the menu choices were a no-brainer: we both went for steak tartare followed by paparadelle with wild boar ragu. Mary asked for a wine recommendation in a traditional Chianti style and the restauranteur produced a bottle from this local small producer (Lecci e Brocchi) just five km away. Mary was very happy!
So that was nice.
Thursday 10-September-2026.
A wander around town in the morning to see the sights and buy some lunch to eat back at the B'n'B. After lunch it was a half hour walk up for the tasting in the pouring rain.
The church on the Felsina Estate.
Inside the church.
The entrance to the tasting room.
As part of the tour they took us into the old stables where they age some of their wines. These are custom made oval barrels full of Sangiovese grapes were specially made to fit between the pillars of the stables.
Here we are having the maturation barrels explained. They buy some new French oak each year and use them for ten to twelve years.
The “wine library” where they keep stocks of older vintages for special occasions.
They ferment the Chardonnay in barrels. The first barrel has a clear end so you can see how much yeast settles out at the bottom. The device he is holding in his left hand is used to stir up the lees to add more flavour to the finished wine.
The original cellar underneath the church.
The size of the operation becomes apparent when you see the stainless steel fermenting vats!.
Poggio al Sole vineyard - the hillock of sunshine in the distance - so named because it gets the sun all day.
They have excavated new cellars connecting to the old church cellars. In the foreground you can see new barrels still with their cardboard packaging including information on how toasted the insides are (5 to 15 minutes, according to the style they want to achieve).
Oak barrels where the wine is maturing in the new cellar. They paint the middle stripe red because that’s where the drips run down when topping up the wine which looks messy. This way it looks better for purely aesthetic reasons.
The old barrels in the middle are sold off to bars, restaurants and private individuals mostly for use as tables.
This is where they used to kennel the dogs for hunting wild boar, deer and pheasant. They moved the kennels across to the Poggio al Sole because the dogs were too noisy near the house.
Finally, the tasting (colour; aroma; taste).
Felsina Berardenga Chardonnay 2024.
Pale golden; oaky, peach kernel; fresh, not too oaky, good acidity, some length. Chardonnay is not a typical grapes for this area but they planted some as an experiment and (I cynically suspect) to supply the restaurant trade.
Felsina Berardenga Chianti Classico 2023.
Mahogany brown; sweet, slight tobacco, plum, orange; some tannins, soft fruit, fresh, good acidity and length.
Felsina Berardenga Chianti Classico Riserva 2022.
Darker, deeper colour; not as much on the nose, hay, soft fruit, cedar?; soft tannins, very smooth, chocolate, more complex.
Felsina Berardenga "Rancia" Chianti Classico Gran Selezione 2021.
Darker, deeper colour again; typical Sangiovese nose; good good, smooth, elegant, soft fruit.
As always fascinating tour and tasting. That evening we dined at Restaurant Quei 2. Good but not quite up to the standard of Bengodi.
On the way home we stopped off at Bar Centrale for an ice cream.
Next stop: San Vicenti, Tuscany.
