Castagna La Chiave Sangiovese 2019

The 2019 Sangiovese exhibits both seriousness and structure, with La Chiave offering a powerful yet delicate profile and captivating aroma. It boasts significant depth, with a gravel-like tannin structure that rivals the best examples from Tuscany, exuding an old-world charm. Vibrant, irresistible, and delicious, with succulent red fruit notes, intertwined with marjoram, mint, sandalwood, thyme, and lavender, providing a refreshing, long finish that leaves you wanting more.

Julian and Carolann Castagna, previously successful in Sydney's film industry, decided to pursue their passion for fine wine, planting a vineyard in a then-unrecognized area of Australia. They believed this land would be ideal for Syrah and Sangiovese, producing fruit with the nuanced qualities of Côte-Rôtie. In 1997, they planted the vineyard on former grazing land, growing five clones of Syrah from original 1850s Rhone stock. Farming biodynamically from the start, they highlighted the minerality of the ancient granitic soil in their wines. Their journey from city life to winemaking, including building a straw-bale winery and house, reflects their commitment to creating classic old-world style wines with new-world fruit. They envision their vineyard's region as a future viticultural marvel of Australia.