A vineyard needs a lot of care, just like a common garden: the better it is, the better the quality of the grapes that come from there. This is why in our vineyards manual work has absolute priority over any type of mechanical work. Our employees spend weeks and months taking care of each individual grape with their own hands. Each vineyard, however, is different from the others and has individual characteristics that must be taken into account, since they are its true richness and make it unique. For this reason, for us it is obvious to ferment the collections of each vineyard separately, respecting the properties of the individual vintages. Only in this way can the character of the wine be best expressed in every single bottle!
In our vineyards day and night, summer and winter determine the cycles: in winter, when the vineyard rests, we too take a well-deserved rest; when during the month of March the vines sprout with impetus and then, with the first summer heats, to the flowering follows the formation of the berries, even our life becomes industrious. And when the August heat stops the growth of the foliage and the plants reach equilibrium, our rhythm also slows down and the diligent work gives way to the capillary control of each single berry. While waiting for the harvest, we move with caution and caution: we observe the bunches carefully, proceeding slowly through the rows and checking the level of ripeness of the berries. These are moments of great emotion. And then in October the collection! Finally we can breathe a sigh of relief: the vineyard cycle is over. In front of us is now the second important stage of processing: while the vineyard rests, we begin the work of winemaking in the cellar, extracting the must from the grapes and working to ensure that the typical character of Sangiovese has all the way to express itself. Until then, in spring, a new cycle will begin.
With the planting of the first vines, Podere Salicutti was immediately decided, almost intuitively, to adopt the criteria of organic farming. The strongest desire of Francesco Leanza was to live and work in harmony with the surrounding environment. In this sense, the company was innovative, since in those years no one produced organic wines in Montalcino. The choice was then made official with the adherence to the control and certification system in force. Already in 1996 Francesco Leanza was able to put the relative references on the label of his first Rosso di Montalcino, becoming the first winemaker of Montalcino to use the words "from organic farming" for Rosso and Brunello.
The current owners, the Eichbauer, recognize the inestimable value that this story contains. That's why they decided to continue the activity in the footsteps of Francesco Leanza, in full respect of the principles of organic viticulture. The philosophy behind the company wants to support the typicality and terroir and this is the guarantee of the quality and character of the wines of Podere Salicutti. From the beginning, we wanted to follow the criterion of respect for the environment, already applied in the cultivation of the vine, even in the cellar. Here, the chosen technical and enological practices have been consciously and respectfully directed towards enhancing the intrinsic qualities of each wine, each vineyard and each year.
Following these principles scrupulously, we make sure that nothing is added or subtracted from our grapes: their character must be able to develop and express fully. During vinification neither stabilization nor clarification nor filtration is practiced and any other practice that may alter the chemical-biological balance of the wine being formed is excluded a priori. Under the careful guide of the man, the raw material obtained in the vineyard is now transformed into a cellar. Here, the only oenological practices adopted are the control and maintenance of minimum concentrations of SO2, which ensure the integrity of the wine during aging, and the decanting, carried out promptly and accurately.
Researching the authenticity of Sangiovese wine means enhancing the character of each vineyard, applying the utmost commitment to preserving the quality of the grapes. Particular attention is also given to woods and refining containers: the choice of the best qualities of French oak and containers of appropriate capacity is essential to obtain balanced and elegant wines. For this reason, barrels and barrels of different capacities are present in the cellar, which are used in a targeted manner according to needs. To fully exploit the character of our vines, each of them is vinified separately. To reflect this choice, each wine bears the name of the vineyard of origin. It goes without saying that any blend of wines from different vintages is excluded. These principles emphasize the peculiarity and diversity and thus make each of our wines unique and unmistakable.