Ep. 46 Monty Waldin interviews Laura Bianchi (Castello di Monsanto) | Discover Italian Regions: Tuscany / Toscana

Italian wine podcast. Chinching with Italian wine people. Hello. This is the Italian wine podcast. My name is Monte Walden. Today in the studio is Lara Bianchi from the Castello de Mont santa winery in Canti Clasica. Welcome Lara. Thank you. So first of all, where is Castello de Monsanto? The one area is located in the village of Monsanto because, the one area takes the name from the little place. The name Monsanto dates back to nine hundred ninety eight in detail language means a holy mountain because in this locality, Saint died in the middle age, and the church pay homage to this man calling the village a holy mountain. Monsanto is, inside the district of, Barberino Valdeza, one of the, communi in the Cantic classical denomination. So when you say the Val Delta, what is a Val, and what is an ElSA? Val is Valle. Mhmm. And Elsa is the name of the river in the valley. So what effect does the river have, on your vineyards? Is it mister Makeit Koulam or humid? Yeah. The river is far away from the estate because Monsanto is located in the highest part of the the El Salvador. How high? Three hundred, meter above the sea level. Three hundred and fifteen. So is yours is the castle literally on top of the hill? He's on top of the hill. Yes. Okay. Did you? Okay. And when was the castle built? The building is from seventeen forty. Oh, quite a new castle then. Yeah. I've compared with many others. It took an IKEA castle. It's a new one. Okay. Alright. So, and you're the third generation of your family. So tell me a little bit about your father, Fabrizio, and your grandfather Aldo. Yeah. The property was bought by my grandfather Aldo. When did he buy him? He bought it in nineteen sixty one just because he felt in love in the landscape. He was born near near there in San Jimiano. And before World War two, he left San Jimiano find a job and he moved to Milan. And after the war, he wanted to buy something near where he was born. What did he do? Milan is a job at Richard? The textile business that is still in the family. And then, has been really my father, Fabrizio, who, this over the potential of, the winemaking at Monsanto. He's, background, he's not an analogist. He's just studying by himself, but he received a lot of, instrument by my ground mother, his mother because she was producing one in Piedmont. So for sure, my father has been influenced by the mentality of my grandmother's family from from Piedmont. So how does that translate in? Obviously, Piedmont is known for Nebula, famous red wine, Barrol and Babaresco. How does that influence translate into Tuscany? What did he do that was different in Tuscany? What did he learn? For sure, I mean, we are speaking early sixties. And so, when, Kianti classical was in a much different, let's say, a situation than now. It's a very politely put it. Yeah. I'm very polite. And in nineteen sixty two, with the first harvest that he decided to do a single vineyard, a crew. And for sure, this was something completely new in, toscan mentality of my making, but something coming from France and which used to be French, didn't it? Yeah. Alright. So this idea of a single vineyard wine or a or a cruise of which part of the vineyard did he choose? Why did he call it In the Italian language means, top of the hill. So it's the highest part of the property and is, is a vineyard covering, the top of the hill, so a vineyard with four exposures. And very sunny, we we usually pick, the grapes of a poggio in three different moments because of different, the different exposure. Yeah, exposures. So, I mean, in terms of your poggio, how much do you produce Vil podju at the moment. At the moment, around twenty two thousand bottles. So, no, it's not in a huge production, isn't it? No. His end is five extra large. And how old are the vines on average? You still have some from your father's time in Grand this time? No. Unfortunately, not. Because the Venus was already planted part of it, in, of course, in sixty two when it was made the first harvest, and that part has been replanted, about twenty, twenty years ago. So very sunny side Elpodge on the top of How are you how are you finding changes in the climate affecting your winemaking and wine growing? Yeah. For sure there is something that is changing. And, when I speak to my dad asking the same question because he lived fifty five vintages, so of fifty five different climate. I asked I only asked him, do you think that it's really changing? And he said, also in the sixties and the seventies, they were very hot, some or. But what is really changing is the intense intensity of raining, wind, everything is stronger now. When it's raining, it's raining much harder than, than what he remember in the sixties and the seventies. More extreme. More more extreme, event, but you you remember also very hot and dry harvest, forty or fifty years ago. So what can you do you're getting extreme rainfall to protect the soil, to protect the vines, what are you what are you doing to change? We are doing, surveyshio. I'm So that's cover cropping. Yeah. Cover cropping. Just sewing plants between the vine rows to, hold on to the soil, like a carpet of greenery. Correct. That's the only thing we can do because, there's no other way. I mean, and then, we are not allowed to irrigate. But at Monsanto, we are lucky because, Galestor soil with the cheese those system that, are deeper in the soil can, keep a good quantity of water. So also in very hot summer, like, two thousand and three, we decided to produce a because, there was no overwritening. Of course, Pagio has all the vines, so very deep, roots, of the vines. Okay. Yeah. It's interesting about the, talk about the cholesterol, the or do you have any other types of soil, like limestone, a laissez? No. Mostly is, is Galesto then So what does that do to the wine then in terms of texture? I think that the main characteristic is the quality of return ins, and the longevity of, Monsanto one and the porridge in particular is given ninety five percent by by the soil by the list. It gives it that very silky, savory, feeling the mouth, isn't it? And the capacity of this time, and to live very long. So a very flexible wine. It can be drunk young because it's kinda smooth. Well, in some vintages, a poggio one is young as it could be a little bit austere, but in Italy, we say you cannot have the mojo Briaca and both the wall I bought the piano. Sorry. Okay. So, yeah, we've been My place. Yeah. Maybe that's been I have all the feminists, actually. So we're not gonna translate that. So you got you if your wife is drunk, the the barack cannot be The barack cannot be full. Okay. So to make, I mean, to have a long life wine, it could be a little bit, austere when he's young. What were your memories like as a child growing up on the estate? Did you always know you're gonna take over and run it, or did you have another plan for yourself? I I grew up in near Milan, and then I studied law. I took my degree in law because I wanted to do something different than my parents. Were you a bit of a rebel then. Yeah. I'll try. And then I practice, seven months. As a lawyer. What kind of lawyer were you financial lawyer? Civil law. Civil law. Civil and commercial law. And then I got completely depressed because I didn't like it. I love to study, but I didn't like it to to practice. Was it a very masculine, masculine, sexist kind of what world does it feel well? No. I didn't. I didn't really like the everyday boring. It was very boring. So my sister and brother decided to do something else to take care of the textile business. And so my dad told me why don't you try? And I said, okay. And I felt he love. So you were well twenty three, twenty four? I was twenty four. I could never say enough thanks to the people that were working at Monsanto because at the beginning, they didn't accept the idea that the woman, would have been taken the winery and not my brother. You know, the mentality that time was, a little bit, made forward. Were they also worried that you're an intellectual? Do they see you as a human interest? I had no background just what I have learned since I was a little child, by my father, but, they thought you weren't you weren't prepared to get your hands dirty. And Yeah. So I told them, okay. I will work in the vineyards and the seller with you every day, and they been, wonderful. I learned so much by the people that always been there. They knew everything in the vineyards and in the cellar. I learned like this. Okay. So just, final question And, yeah, let's talk about maybe not the final question. You you made both Canti Clasico, which is a delimited, region between Florence and Sienna, and you also make a Canticollis inezi, which just means Canti from the hills around Sienna, which is a huge, zone in the province of Siena. How complicated is it for you to explain to go to the market with two counties? It is complicated, but, Monsanto has seventy two actors of vineyards. And since the beginning, we are on, about twenty hectares contiguous, but outside cantiglas. It's on the on the boundary. Yeah. Because, Barbarino is on the border. So it's on the center west part of the denomination. So since sixty two, we we own this vineyards in Kianti Coli. It's an easy, and, we do our, little wine. I mean, but for sure it's quite difficult, above or outside of Italy to make people understand the differences between Kianti and Kianti Glasgow. It's it's a huge discussion. Do you think it should just all be called Kianti to make life easy for people? And then people who make good Kianti prime? It's only called Kianti, not colicine easy. Okay. But you could call it colicine easy. We could, but we don't want to make fusion, more confusion because the Kianti classico is in the district of Florence. And Kianti, is in we are on the border between the two provinces. Florence and Siena. So, we call it discounted and, not always and easy. But do people know the difference when you go to the market? I mean, obviously, the price would be different. I would have thought. Yeah. The prices are very different. That's different. Yeah. People, let's say fifty fifty fifty percent of the people don't know the differences and fifty percent. No. Are you a good salesman? I mean, do you do you just say, listen, forget about what's on the label? Just try the wine? What's your salesman? Yeah. That's the the key point. Try the wine. There's no other a better way to make people understand. So you're quite, obviously, you're quite a big one of the larger producers in the in the region. Does that bring added pressure? Or does that give you more freedom in the market? No. I don't don't make any pressure. I mean, of course, there's a lot to do. Every day, but, thank you god. I mean, we are distributed in many countries, and, it's working. That would be okay. I hope to come and visit. I've never been to your vineyard. I'm I'm very, very, I know. I'm ashamed to say. That I haven't, but I I would love to walk up the hill. I wait for you. Yeah. Oh, you maybe I'm a journalist, a horrible journalist. You park me at the bottom of the slope and maybe work all the way up to Ielpodge on a really hot day. Yeah. Okay. And just to make me suffer a little bit, and then I can ask my any questions. And, but no, Elizabeth has been a real pleasure talking to you. And, you've articulated, brilliantly the history of your, history of your family. Oh, my pleasure. And thank you very much. I think you made the right decision ditching the legal business. I'm I'm sure I am under after twenty five years, I'm more than sure. Thanks very much for coming in. Thanks. Follow Italian wine podcast on Facebook and Instagram.