Wine estate Fossacolle is a little family conducted estate. The owner Sergio Marchetti and his family take care of the vineyards and all the agronomic aspects, while his son in law Adriano Bambagioni is responsible for the vinification of the wines and for the sales and export of the production. The 4 hectares of vineyards are placed in a little middle age Village called Tavernelle, in the south of Montalcino; rural peace and quietness, unpolluted woods and vineyards, the timeless colors and perfumes of Tuscany, and the breeze from the close by Maremma create a perfect environment to grow and mature the grapes.
Marchetti Sergio, owner of the estate of Fossacolle, belongs to an old patriarchal family of the 18th century. The family's descendants have always been living and farming on the land of a large and noble lineage. At the beginning of the 80ties, the owner of this land sold the territories where the Marchettis worked and decided to donate them the "Podere Fossacolle". In 1984, the first Sangiovese vineyards were planted, marking the start of the viniculture activity. Some years later, the vineyards were registered as Brunello di Montalcino, allowing the winery to develop the oenological aspects. Investments were made to build up the cellar for the vinification and the subsequent ageing in wood barrels. On January 1st, 2002, the winery issued their first Brunello di Montalcino, vintage 1997.
The soil is of medium compactness, tending to clayey, and it consists of 2,2 hectares of vineyards of Brunello di Montalcino. The average age of the vineyard is of 12 years. The vines are elevated as cordon speronato. The vineyards density is of 4000 vines/ha and the grape production is less then 7000kg/ha. Thanks to the small dimension of our estate the vines are pampered thoroughly, as we consider our vineyard just an extension of our garden.
The grapes are picked up by hand into small boxes. Vinification takes place in stainless steel vats under controlled temperature, and also in concrete vats. The long maceration times and the frequent fullings optimize the extraction of the skins.
Once the alcoholic and malolactic fermentation are completed, the wine is transferred into the aging cellar, where, at constant temperature and humidity, it rests for 12 months in oak casks of 25 hl and for another 12 months in French oak barriques of 225 liters. After the wood aging period, the wine is hold for another 12 months in concrete vats. No filtration, but a simple decantation precedes the bottling procedures. It starts selling 8 months later.