Podere Le Cinciole is a 30-hectare farm and winery located in Panzano in Chianti. Valeria and Luca Vigano took over the estate in 1990 with a passion to reconnect with nature and resurrect the tradition of biodynamic farming that’s existed for over 4000 years in the region.

Some of the farm is dedicated to the production of olive oil, with ten hectares designated for their vineyards. The vines grow at an altitude between 430 and 500 meters, mainly facing South-East. These are some of the steepest and highest vineyards in Panzano. With an average age of 50 years, they are also some of the oldest vines. Their soil is one of the most distinctive factors about the estate and about Panzano; the mother rock, or pietraforte, is a sandstone and limestone mix (calcareous sandstone). This is a rare soil type in Chianti Classico. It is a hard and heavy stone - all the monumental buildings in Florence are made of it. The topsoil is a mix of clay and slate, known as galestro, which is found throughout Tuscany.

Luca and Valeria focus on cultivating clonal selections from their oldest vineyards while exploring how climate change has and will modify future vintages. All updates they have made to the winery have created a carbon negative production. Their doctrine of cultivating diverse, fertile soil over the past 30 years has allowed a deepening of the rootstock such that even in very warm vintages, they rarely lose less than 15% of their production while retaining a low ABV.

Their choice to originally farm organically was dictated by their belief that the farmer is the custodian of the land and while s/he uses it, s/he does not need to abuse it. They want to have healthy soil with lasting productivity for generations to come. Their specific certification (QCertificazioni) is considered ‘a start’, with an objective to go beyond that in constant search for the most sustainable methods. With this, they have been able to regenerate their soil to the point where they need almost no green harvest; their efficient vines produce small, resilient buds that require no interventions and still create incredibly high quality fruit.

The knowledge gained with the direct experimentation in the field and with the close collaboration with the Experimental Station (SPEVIS) has brought them well beyond the simple “organic” concept by:

• Never using synthetic molecules or GMOs (organic viticulture)

• Respecting the priority of the soil and the indivisibility of the systems (biodynamic viticulture)

• Working exclusively with our own grapes trying to enhance the territoriality of wine (territorial viticulture)

• Developing an efficient system from all points of view (sustainable viticulture)

• Reducing all actions to the minimum necessary, adopting the “do not” philosophy whenever possible (natural viticulture)

• Managing the defense of pathogens according to a territorial vision, with Panzano as the first example (biodistretti)

Le Cinciole was also central to the creation of the UGA system (Unità Geografiche Aggiuntive) in Chianti by being one of the first to create a consortium of like-minded growers in their region to hold themselves accountable to more strict, measurable laws than those of the larger Chianti Classico. There are 11 UGAs in total, and Panzano is one of them, though they are in the larger commune of Greve in Chianti.

All international varietals (less than 8% of holdings) are intentionally planted in small, cooler parcels for the sake of experimenting with Chianti’s potential for low ABV, supplementary varietal expressions. They feel these grapes could continue the sustainability of the region should it become too hot one day for Sangiovese, and that soil will always prevail over the vine.

“I was once again deeply impressed with Le Cinciole. Valeria and Luca have quietly turned Le Cinciole into one of the best estates in all of Italy. Readers should do everything they can to check out these new releases.” Antonio Galloni, June 2023

‘Cinciorosso’ IGT Toscana
70% Sangiovese, 15% Merlot, 15% Syrah, aged in cement.

Chianti Classico DOCG
100% Sangiovese from estate vines averaging 50 years old. Aged in 20 & 25 hectoliter oak barrels for 12 months, then cement tanks for another 12 months before bottling.

Chianti Classico Gran Selzione ‘Aluigi Vigna Campo Ai Pieri’
100% Sangiovese from a single vineyard parcel. Fermented in cement and aged in 25 hl French oak barrels for 24 months and another year in cement.

‘Camalaione’ IGT Toscana
70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Syrah & 15% Merlot. Aged 24 months in 25 hectoliter oak casks followed by 12 months in cement vats

‘Peteresco’ IGT Toscana
100% Sangiovese from the highest vineyard in Panzano at 470 ml. It spends 24 months in French oak barrels followed by 12 months in concrete and a minimum of 12 months in bottle before release.