Michele Castellani Valpolicella Classico Sup (Ripasso) San Michele 1997

Located in the heart of the Valpolicella Classica, the Castellani winery was established in 1945 by Michele Castellani as a small cellar making wines which he sold to the other prominent Valpolicella producers. In the 1990s his son Sergio decided to expand operations and start bottling under the Castellani name and turned this family-run operation into a state-of-the-art winery of world renown. Sergio still personally oversees every step of the production supported by his wife Maria, son Michele and daughters Martina and Mara. The estate consists of 40 hectares of hillside vineyards, in particular Ca del Pipa and I Castei, offering ideal exposure, ventilation and soil composition. Selective pruning and careful selection in the vineyard ensure that grapes are picked at the peak of their organoleptic potential. Drying of the grapes is carried out in large and modern plants to ensure grape quality and vinification and ageing are done in a perfect combination of tradition and innovation (both large barrels and barriques). This result in a range of products closely linked to their territory, but offered in an interesting and modern interpretation.