When we arrived at the Villa two days ago, our winemaker, friend, gardener extraordinaire and agronomist, Matteo Turchi, presented us with two bottles of Villa Palazzetta's latest wine. A 2022 Sangiovese Rose (Rosato) from last year’s harvest and our first ever Riserve wine, a 2019 Vino Rosso Reserve. Both of course feature the label designs from our resident artista, Lee Riddell. Our first wine was from 2017 so we’ve been doing this a few years and every year our wine gets better and better. These two new wines are something special for us. When we first tasted these wines we thought, "Wow. These are real wines." Of course, all the wines we've made have been "real" but these are the real thing. Really.
We don't make this wine to sell. We make it to drink at our own homes and to give to our friends and guests at Villa Palazzetta and Montalcino Townhouse. Making wine is a lesson in humility. First you have to learn to accept what nature gives you in terms of weather, rainfall, sunshine, temperatures, wind, fog . . . need I say more? Then you need a winemaker that treats the grapes at every stage like his children. Then you need patience and more patience. There are no shortcuts and lots of chances to make mistakes. But these are wines to be proud of and to share. They aren't going to be on any Wine Spectator lists, but for those of us who get a chance to drink them they are special in every way from the watercolor labels to the liquid inside. A toast to our great team who made this happen. Matteo, Francesco Mulinari (our good friend and wine consultant), Lisa Jane, our incredible property manager and Lee. Grazie mille for the love you put into these lovely wines.