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V I L L A C A F A G G I OThe Jewel of Casa GirelliStefano and Marina Girelli discovered Villa Cafaggio and its winemaker, Stefano Farkas, in the mid-eighties. They were instantly charmed by the grace and beauty of the Tuscan property, but even more impressed by the extraordinary quality of its Chianti and Super-Tuscan wines. The Villa Cafaggio range was soon added to Girelli's export portfolio and became the jewel of Casa Girelli. Since that time, "Stefano and Stefano" established not only an excellent working relationship but their respective families have become the greatest friends. The story behind Villa Cafaggio is a long one. The origins of the estate date back thousands of years to the Lombard era when the property was named "Cafaggio," meaning "enclosed, cultivated field." Hundreds of years later, in the fourteenth century, vines still flourished on the property under the ownership of Benedictine monks from Siena. Located in the commune of Greve, one of the most prestigious and picturesque valleys of Chianti Classico, the 63-hectare property has long been admired for its production of slow-maturing wines -- as have the wines of some of its neighbors including Rampolla and Fontodi. However, in 1967 Villa Cafaggio had been left in a terrible state of decay and it was thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Farkas, who originally bought the property as a country home, that their son, Stefano Farkas, rebuilt the houses, and restored and replanted the vineyards and olive groves. Only one vineyard remained intact at that time, Solatio Basilica, comprising rows of "promiscuous" trained vines, separated by rows of olive trees, that had been planted in 1937, 1938 and 1939. This vineyard has recently been replanted with new vines, and the low yields, highly concentrated and complex, of these carefully pruned vines now produce a very special Chianti Classico Riserva. In the late '60s and early '70s Stefano Farkas also restored Cafaggio's San Martino vineyard, located below the ancient church of San Martino in Cecione, replanting more than 20 hectares of vines, primarily Tuscan Sangiovese and some Sangiovese Grosso (Brunello type). In 1986 he planted 4,000 Cabernet Sauvignon vines (from two different clones), grafted on 22-year-old Tuscan Canaiolo, followed by additional plantings (from a third French clone of Cabernet Sauvignon) in 1991 and 1995. All these vines were planted according to the American system, rows lined down the hillside (instead of across) which allows the bunches of grapes to grow more spread out and, therefore, receive better aeration. Following much experimentation, these Cabernet Sauvignon vines now produce the recently-released Cortaccio, a paragon of massive-fruit, rounded tannins, depth and balance. It has consistently garnered top scores at international tastings, and in 1997 was rated the best Cabernet Sauvignon from Tuscany in the 1993 vintage by the revered Gambero Rosso guide. Stefano insists on carefully pruning the vines himself, cutting the branches low to strengthen the trunk which gradually grows taller as the roots grow deeper, and bending and training the first branches along low-running wires from where new branches will grow upwards and ultimately enable the grapes to grow higher off the ground. In 1991, Stefano began replanting again, this time another 5 hectares of new vines with special Sangiovese clones on American rootstock (the first wines from which will be available in 1996 since Chianti Classico DOCG regulations require vines to be at least 5 years old); and 623 olive trees, which already produce an exceptionally high quality, low acidity, extra virgin olive oil. Stefano's investments, however, were not only in the vineyard but also in the winery. Since 1967, he has created undoubtedly one of Italy's most technologically advanced winemaking facility comprising only the best, state-of-the-art equipment for every stage of wine production. A sophisticated destemming machine has been installed outside the winery entrance. Here, during the harvest which usually starts early October and lasts 20-25 days, all Villa Cafaggio's red grapes' stalks and stems are removed before vinification. One section of the winery is reserved especially for fermentation, where the "pigiato" (Italian for must) is fermented in stainless steel tanks at a controlled temperature. In order to produce a wine of great structure and complexity but with soft, unaggressive tannins, Stefano allows the temperature of the juice to rise naturally up to 31° C during the first 2 to 4 days of fermentation, he then controlld this temperature and keeps it constant at 31°C for 24 to 36 hours, after which time he lowers the temperature to 25° to 26°C, until the fermentation is completed. The wines ferment for approximately 7 days with an additional 10 to 15 days maceration for Chianti Classico, and up to 3 weeks maceration for Chianti Classico Riserva, Solatio Basilica and the Super-Tuscans. A modern, totally automatic pump removes the skins from the wine once fermentation is completed. French, 2-disked, soft pressure presses, made by Vaslin, are used to extract the remaining juice from the red, fermented skins. Stainless steel pipes, resistent to sulphur-dioxide, have been especially installed to enable the wines to be moved easily and effectively during every stage of production. Chaptilization is forbidden in Tuscany. However, the addition of concentrated must made from the same grape variety is a natural method of adding depth and consistency to the wine, legally. As such, Stefano Farkas is the proud owner of one of Italy's rare concentrated must-making machines. It heats the grape juice at 42°C under high vacuum pressure, equivalent of that at an altitude of 14,000 meters, which produces a concentration of sugars 3 to 3 1/2 times that of the original juice in the form of a syrup. Since DOC regulations require that Chianti Classico have a minimum content of 11 1/2 % natural alcohol, the addition of must, when highly concentrated does not risk diluting this percentage. Therefore, Stefano can add up to 6 kilos (equivalent of 4 liters) of concentrated must to 100 kilos of wine if the vintage requires it. Villa Cafaggio is, of course, also equipped with the finest barrels for wood ageing in a new, especially designed, double walled section of the winery. With a total storage capacity (in wood) of 3,025 hectoliters, 300 hectoliters of which can be contained in Allier-Troncais French oak 225-liter barriques. During the first few months in barrel, the wines complete malolactic fermentation which naturally lowers the total acidity and enhances the structure. Chianti Classico is aged approximately 12 months in Slavonian oak; Chianti Classico Riserva (made only in the best vintages) is aged 12 to 16 months in French oak barriques and then fined for 3 to 4 months in Slavonian oak; ); the low, concentrated yields from the vines of the Solatio Basilica vineyard are aged for approximately 12 months in French oak barriques, 6 months in small Slavonian oak barrels and a further 6 months in bottle, producing a rare Chianti Classico Riserva of exceptional quality. The single vineyard wine, San Martino, is aged with a modern approach for Sangiovese, approximately 18 months in French oak (Allier-Troncais) barriques (no Slavonian oak); while the 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, Cortaccio, is matured only in the new French oak barriques for, again, approximately 18 months. All these wines are aged for at least 6 months in bottle, in order to allow the wine to fully mature and settle gracefully prior to release. Before bottling, Stefano fines his wines, with the exception of Cortaccio which remains unfiltered, with egg whites as the 11% albumen content cleans and removes the aggressive tannins, is natural, and leaves the wine round and soft. Stefano selected the best bottling line available in the world today. German-made by Seitz, it automatically sterilizes the bottles, compresses the corks into the bottlenecks and simultaneously removes any excess air inside the bottle to create a vacuum, oxygen being the enemy of bottled wine. This way, the wine is immediately packed in crates and moved down to the cellars to rest, whereas most bottling machines must leave their wines upright for a few days, waiting for the excess air to escape before being laid down. Even the storage cellars were especially designed and built with automatic temperature control, 15°C in the summer and 12°C in winter, where up to 65,000 bottles are carefully stored, consistently and slowly, before release. Villa Cafaggio's Chianti Classico Riserva, Solatio Basilica and Super-Tuscan wines are made only in the best vintages. This, on average, is 3 to 4 times a decade. In the eighties, the 1982, 1985 and 1988 were exceptional vintages, and in the ninetys, while 1990, 1993, 1994, 1995 and 1996 were very good years, the 1997 presents itself as the vintage of the century. In more ordinary vintages, Stefano Farkas is able to produce consistently excellent Chianti Classico as he selects only the best, ripest grapes and also adds the small, richer and more concentrated yields from his Solatio Basilica and San Martino vineyards to further upgrade the quality. In brief, the current vintages of Villa Cafaggio, available in the United States thru F.W.I. (F&F Fine Wines International, Inc.), Rutherford, New Jersey, comprise: CHIANTI CLASSICO DOCG
CHIANTI CLASSICO RISERVA DOCG
SOLATIO BASILICA CHIANTI CLASSICO RISERVA DOCG
SAN MARTINO
CORTACCIO
RECENT AWARDS Wine critics on both sides of the Atlantic have praised Villa Cafaggio's wines. Some of these awards, ratings and reviews are listed below: 1997 INTERNATIONAL WINE & SPIRIT COMPETITION, U.K. Chianti Classico DOCG 1995 (bronze) 1997 GAMBERO ROSSO ANNUAL WINE GUIDE, Italy 94 points and "3 glasses" for Cortaccio 1993 (this is the highest, most prestigious wine award in Italy) 1996 INTERNATIONAL WINE & SPIRIT COMPETITION, U.K. Chianti Classico DOCG 1994 (bronze) 1994 "WINE" INTERNATIONAL CHALLENGE, U.K. Chianti Classico DOCG 1991 Chianti Classico DOCG 1990 24TH INTERNATIONAL WINE & SPIRIT COMPETITION, U.K. Gold medal for Cortaccio 1990 1993 "WINE" INTERNATIONAL CHALLENGE, U.K. Gold medal for Cortaccio 1990 Solatio Basilica 1990 San Martino 1990 Chianti Classico 1990 ROBERT M. PARKER, Jr. - THE WINE ADVOCATE, U.S.A. 88 for Chianti Classico 1990 90 for Cortaccio 1990 91 for San Martino 1990 89 for Solatio Basilica 1990 THE WINE SPECTATOR, U.S.A. 88 for San Martino 1993 88 for Riserva 1990 91 for Cortaccio 1990 89 for San Martino 1990 87 for Solatio Basilica 1990 RESTAURANT WINE MAGAZINE, U.S.A. ***** for San Martino 1990 ****+ for Solatio Basilica 1990 ***** for Chianti Classico DOCG 1990 ***** for Cortaccio 1993 ****+ for San Martino 1993
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