San Colombano, Trebbiano Toscano, Malvasia bianca grapes from vines planted in the early 1970s. Loamy clay soils. Harvest mid-September and left to dry on straw mats until January following the harvest. Ferments in 50 to 100 liter casks of chestnut, oak, cherry, acacia and mulberry where it remains for no less than five years. Rested in the bottle for at least six months before release. Average annual production 165 cases.
The Bettarini family have farmed Fattoria di Piazzano since its inception in 1948, when Otello Bettarini, a successful manufacturer from nearby Prato, fell in love with the area’s rolling landscape and bucolic charm. But winemaking in these tufted hills south of Empoli goes back considerably farther than that; archeological excavations on the property have unearthed wine amphorae dating from the 4th century CE! In fact, the very name Piazzano is derived from the Latin “Fundus Plautianus,” or “Plautus’ Farm,” a proud acknowledgement of the land’s heritage as a Roman Centurion’s estate. A closer look at the estate’s unique placement reveals that the property runs across a geological fault line, the resulting tectonic mashup yielded an astonishing array of distinct soil types throughout the vineyards. Today, brother and sister Rolando and Ilaria Bettarini take shrewd advantage of this diversity in terroir, vinifiying each plot separately, blending only the best expressions and selling off the remainder. For decades this passionate, family-run operation has produced quality wines of typicity at a fraction of the price of its better-known neighbors within the bounds of Chianti Classico a few miles to the east.
