Ep. 2254 Anna Paola Barberi of Colle Massari | Wine, Food & Travel with Marc Millon

The Montecoupon, DOC was started at the same time with the column asari history. And it started with a DOC of San Jose and other varietals. And then in two thousand, I think, nineteen, It started also the d o c g with the San Jose, the Montecucos San Jose d o c g. As I was telling you, this is the perfect terroir for San Giovanni and, this is a small producer here, creating new DOC, not as well known as others here in Tuscany, but the quality we stand out for quality. Fascinating people with stories to share, fabulous wines, and the best local foods to accompany them, and beautiful places to discover and visit. All of this and more on wine food and travel with me, Mark Millen, on the Italian wine podcast. Join me for a new episode every Tuesday. Welcome to wine food and travel with me, Mark Millen, on Italian wine podcast. Today, I'm traveling to Tuscany to the southern wine hills of Montecucco to visit my guest Anna Paulo of Coli Masari, which oversees four Tuscan wine estates though our focus this morning is on the flagship. Castello Coli Masari. Buenjour Nuhanna, thank you so much for being my guest. How are you today? And is it a beautiful day? Buenjour Nuh. Nice to talk to you. Yes. This is a beautiful day in Kalimasari. It's a sunny day. The temperature is pretty warm for being February, and, it's fantastic. Well, that sounds, that sounds wonderful. It's a little bit gray and cold here in Southwest England, and, Beya was just telling me that it's it's pretty chilly and gray in verona as well. Anapala, before we begin our discussions about the estate, first of all, tell me a little bit about yourself. Have you always lived and worked in the world of wine? No. I I've started working in marketing of, different fast consumer goods. But then it's about fifteen years that I'm focusing on the wine business. And so it's about three years that I'm hearing, Nicole Masali. So we have experience of thirty years in marketing and communication, but the last three years. I dedicated everything to calling us. This is beautiful. Okay. Well, it sounds like you have certainly found a beautiful place to work, and to live. I'd like our listeners who are located all around the world too. Gain a vivid impression of this beautiful estate. So can you describe where the Castello Coli Masani the state is and and what it looks like to what this ancient property is like and the vineyards around it? Colimasa is in the heart of the Marima region. So we are in the southwestern part of Tuscany. It's an an spoiled terroir. We are about four hundred meters in altitude. We have this we're surrounded by these beautiful hills that have meticulously aligned vines and, olive oils. We are in a poses of peace, I would say. We are twelve hundred actors of, land out of which hundred and five are planted with vineyards and ninety with olive oils. And when you arrive here, you are pretty much overwhelmed by the nature. You could feel a sense of recognizing with the rhythm of nature, and you can master yourself and time. It's a it's a beautiful sensation. It's an immersive experience. It sounds absolutely beautiful. You've you've given us a very vivid picture, and I've seen as well, the videos and photos, just this beautiful castle on on a hilltop. But Anna Paulo, we're in a really ancient windland, aren't we in La Marima, with history of wine going back to the etruscans? Yes. It is it is true. And when the the family came here, they just find this castle, and they just found twelve pictures of vines planted, and they start restoring it. And, the thing is that we have this beautiful haze around. Then you can see on the background, the Mount Amiata, which is a volcanic mountain, and then you can see also the tyranian sea on the backside. So it is the perfect place we're producing wines. So I bet also in the past. And I'm sure in the past because we found we have knowledge that wine were made also long time ago. Okay. Well, Tennessee, more recent history than Anna Paulo, of how the estate you've mentioned the family finding the estate, tell us that story. Okay. Everything was started in nineteen ninety eight by the passion, the deep passion for wine and nature of the tip of the family. So there were Claudetipa, and his sister, Maria Elis Verta, Nitiipa, that was looking for a place where to produce wines. And they found this, as I said, this beautiful custard with wines, and then they started planting new vines. They started building the the wine cellar in, back in two thousand three, which is a cellar constructed by the architect, Milese, in accord with the principle of bio architecture. And now it's a it's a member of the Susana wine architecture group. Then they started they bought, tenuta de monte cucko, which is our hospitality have now and they start restoring that starting from the church and then to the old, all the old buildings. And now, as I said, it's, the perfect place where to have hospitality. So in this environment, the fundamental tenants that they follow are their passion, their commitment, and they start to grow the team's spirit of the people that worked here. Okay. That's that's really interesting. So it's a a relatively recent project. We're talking about just over a quarter of a century. What was the family doing before the tipa Breter alif family before they decided to move into wine. They were in other business in electronics, mister tipa was in electronics, and then they decided, to when they were on location on the Iranian coast, sailing because they are a passion for sailing. They wanted to find a land where to start cultivating vines, and so they found this amazing and spoiled area here. Was the castle run as a wine estate then or was it in in a sort of run down shape? Did they have to redo everything? It was in a short of a run down place that they start restoring. It took a while and then they did such a beautiful job. They just started everything from not from scratch is because as as you probably know, here we have probably the oldest vines of Sanjo Beze on the old area of the old Marima regions. We find some clones, muscles. We did muscle selection, but everything was restarted and, taking care of with passion from the tip of your study family. Okay. Now I want our listeners to, understand exactly where we are. We're in Southern Tuscany in the Marima. And in this wine zone of Montecucco, which is not so well known, tell us about Montecucco. The Montecukkukkukkukkukkukkukkukkukkukkukkukkukkukkukkukkukkukkukkukkukkukkukkukkukkukkukkukkukkukkukkukkukkukkukkukkukkukkukkukkukkukkukkukkukkukkukkukkukkukkukkukkuk, was started at the, was started at the, and it started with the, was started with the with the with the with the, with the, with the with the with the with the with the and then into two thousand, I think, nineteen, he started also the DOCG with the San Jose, the Montecucos San Jose DOCg. As I was telling you, this is the perfect terroir for San Jose and Argentina. And, this is a small we have small producer here. And it's a as I used as you said, it's a pretty new doc, not as well known at others here in Tuscany. But the quality we stand up for quality. So and you know what, since the nature has is so prevalent here, and we are we are both organic farming. Everything is organic. Here in Nicole Masari and also in the district of Montecucco. The percentage of organic producer is very high. Okay. That's very interesting. So the Montecucco doc has followed has come really around the time of calling Masati's involvement. You've been a pioneer Yes. Winemaker in helping to put this area on the on the Tuscan Wine map. It's a sort of renaissance of this area. Yeah. Sure. Now, I know the the family have the other states in Tuscany as well, but would you say there's an underlying ethos and philosophy towards growing grapes and making wines? Oh, yes. The philosophy of the of the whole group is a passion for sure, but then the respect, the respect of nature, the respect of what it has been done before listening to what that the binds and the terroir are saying and, the heritage, maintaining the heritage, and all our estates are organic. And so to show their respect if we have been pioneers of organic agriculture, I think pretty much in all our states. Okay. That's very important too and increasingly important for consumers. Let's dive straight into the Coli Masati wines. Starting with, perhaps, you're white with melache. With melache. Oh, yes. I love melache. It's such a vibrant, there are menino. There are menino finds here in a perfect spot. And, it's a a wine, a crisp wine with a such a minerality. It's a complex aromas, and, it's a as I was saying, a fresh wine, it it appreciates the warm days that we have here in Marima and then the cool nights and the breezes from the from the sea because there is a huge difference of temperature between day and night so that helps the complexity of the aromas. What was the altitude of the vineyards? Did you say? I know you mentioned that. Three hundred is forty. Okay. Okay. So we're fairly high then for the for the vineyards as well. And that's helping to keep that that freshness. I love Vermentino as a grape, and particularly these expressions from Southern Tuscany, and that sounds, a beautiful wine. And we'll we'll talk about pairing wines and foods a little bit later, but I'm sure that that, is a wine that pairs very well with some of the seafood dishes of, of your area. How about one more white, Anna Paula? Let's, talk about Erise. Yeah. First of all, I'd like to share with you a little secret that the the name of it is that comes from Maria Eris, which is the name of, Maria Eris Lertarelli, the sister of, Claudia one of the two founders, Maria Eris of the Kole, Masaria state. Eris states a Tusian way to say Eris. Maria Eris Eris. And it's, unique blend of Vermentino, and the Greceto. It has eighty five percent of the Mantino and fifty percent of Greceto. It ferments and matures, thoroughly for nine months in large oak casts, a forty hectoliters, and it has a crisp acidity and a good structure and, a subtle creaminess at the end. It's a very fantastic and unique, the maintenance. From Montecoupon. Okay. So that Grequito is giving a little bit more richness and body to the blend. Yes. And the mean, ah, minerality. It's a duet of those two varietals that make it the uniqueness. And the is from the vineyards that are very close in the northern parts of the castle. There is this dissolved vineyard of Grequito. Are most of the vineyards surrounding the castle or are they in different parcels around the estate? Yes. It's pretty. Big, as I was telling you is to twelve hundred actors and hundreds are collected in vines, but the Vermentino in general is the one close to the castle. It's it lie. It lays from the castle to the cellar. Usually there, the Verintino vines are facing the the terrain and sea, the coast. Okay. Okay. Now I know you produce a range of vines, but I'd like to focus on just two more because we don't have that much time. But, that would be the and then your flagship. Right. Correct. Our crew wines and the color, probably is the epitome of our wines. The. It's a Montecucco reserva, and it's made of San Jose, eighty percent, and then has a little bit of cabernesto vignon and chili a dollar, ten percent each. It's it's a daily super tuscan. Is an intense and the aromatic in aromatics, I mean, has power and structure. It matures for eighteen months in oaks. And then at the end you have this wine that has ripe red fruits and Mediterranean spices, soft tannins, but, very nice complexity and longevity. It's a wine that is it's a pleasure to drink. I like the idea of a daily super tuscan. Yeah. We call, you know, our daily super tuscan because it's the only one that has this intonational varietal in the blend, the Cabemisso vignon. So it's a little bit different from the hundred percent SanJOVese and all the Italian varietals. Okay. And the chile giolo is, important in Montecucco. Isn't it? It's, again, a great variety, traditional tuscan variety often found, but it grows very well in your area. Yeah. We have the chiledado that's contributing the smoothness and the fruitness. And yes, we use it in this area. We use it in the column of Saudi seven. Also, in the blend of, our rosette and our regulator, there are the other two wines that we produce. Yes. Okay. Okay. And let's turn to at seducting the elegance. Fazjalombrone. Pazjalombrone, it's an homage to the oldest vines that we have here in the ideal state. These these vines are more than sixty years long, and they are part of the muscle selection we did when we arrived with probably the oldest vise of the old region, the Vallemba region. As I said, it's a hundred percent San Jose that is fermented in the open vats of ten hectares with manual punch downs, and then it matures always in oak for thirty months. That's the large o cast. Yes. Large o cast. So before fermentation, punching down is an open top woods path, and then it goes into bigger paths of forty hectares. And it's a very elegant reservoir that maintains a crisp acidity and subtle tannins. It's really represents the Okay. And just to, try to give them more of a flavor on this. San Jose in the Marima has a different expression than in nearby Montalcino, for example. Or Kianti classical. Is it a warmer rounder expression, would you say? Probably, it's a warmer and a rounder because here, there is more hot weather, more high temperature during the day, even if it's the resistance compensation during the night, but here, where in my in my way, the sun is very powerful. Okay. Well, the, I also actually would like because it's a wine you mentioned and I have a feeling that will lead well into our discussions on food, which is the Rosato you produce. I've tasted some wonderful, wonderful Rosatos from from Southern Tusany. And I know it's a wine that works very well in your area. So tell us about the Rosato. The Rosato has pretty much all the varietals that we have here in, in our early states because it's seventy percent of San Jose, then fifty percent of the famous Studio we were talking about and then fifty percent of Montepro channel. And it's an easy but crispy and savory rosaying that pairs well with food, but it also a good choice for an imperative. Okay. Is it, full in color or is it a pale rosato? It's almost pale, but it still have its own shade of pink. Because in the years, we are trying to subtract and with the wine less on the skins. So it's starting to be less dark color. Okay. Well, this is a good moment then to turn to some of the typical food of your area, of marama, but also if there are any typical dishes of Montecucco that go well parallel with the wines we've just discussed. Oh, sure. We also have the hospitality here where we have a restaurant. In our restaurant, we have a chef, our chef Mikele, that is a very good chef and usually works with the raw materials that are produced here in Colimasari or in the surroundings. And he works with white boards. So he has he makes the white boards too, then cheeses, local cheeses, then he makes beautiful pasta. So tortelli, pansanella tortelli that goes very well with Vermentino and Papal commodoro, which is the tomato, sort of, tusks of real tuscant tomato soup, and everything is always cooked with our extra virgin olive oil because we produce also extra virgin olive oil. We have here at the state, even three olives that are more than a thousand years of age, and they were in the ma the ancient map of a thousand years ago, and they're still produced extraordinarily void. Yeah. No. That's really important because I know how exquisite and precious the, really good estate extra virgin olive oils are indeed, as precious as wines in many ways. I love the description of some of your dishes that are so typically tuscan the Papal Pomodoro, this sort of bread and tomato soup. It's such a wonderful vehicle for that beautiful exquisite extra virgin olive oil. Yes. Of course. And also the Pantanella, it's also made It's like a papa pomodoro, but let's say more summer style because you have fresh crunchy bread and then fresh tomatoes and basil. And with our oil, it's fantastic. But we always use in our restaurant all Tuscan products. Okay. And this is the unsalted tuscan bread. Is that right? Yes. Right. Correct. Which is which is something that is it takes some getting used to when we visit tuscany, but after a day, we get very used to it, and I love it when when you find that beautiful, tuscan unsalted bread, which is it is unusual for us. It also pairs very well with our tuscan ham. The ham in tuscany is pretty salted. So Also, that is very good. Okay. No. That's a good point because I think the salumi, but also other foods in Tuscany, I do find quite salty, and that unsalted bread is a nice counterbalance to this. I'm thinking of that, wild boar stew going very well with both of those beautiful reds that that you described. Is there much fish eaten in your area? You're not far from the coast. Are you? Yeah. Not far from the coast, but the culture here in this area, it's not for fish. You have to really go to the seaside to find fish. Here, it's probably more neat while boring game cheese. Okay. The pecorino cheese is primarily. Yes. Right. Correct. You're right. We have all different pecorinos that the fresh one, the one that ages, the the all made from small local farms near you. Yes. We select as a different, producer, but they are very close to our estate. And they are all biological usually. We we prefer to use biological products. So even our selection of cheese is order. And are you also growing vegetables for use in the restaurant? Yes. We produce that for sure. Fan raw. And then we also have artichokes, and then we have all of the salads, the tomatoes, and everything. We have close to the restaurant, we have, in the yard where we have all the vegetables. Well, it sounds absolutely beautiful. And I think this is probably a good time to turn to discussing hospitality because it's really fortunate for our listeners to have the opportunity to visit the estate where there's such a fine restaurant. So can we talk about hospitality at Castelo, and indeed in in the group? Yes. Of course. After, you know, concentrating on wine, they started to restore and bought, hospitality hub. And, now I have the pleasure to introduce you to Nicolea, Nicolea Sonone, which is our hospitality director. That can talk better and introduce you to our fantastic world. Nicole? Hi, Matt. Good morning. Thank you for this discussion. Thank you. Cheon, Nicole. Nice to have you with us. How are you today? We are perfectly fine. The weather is, and Apollo say this beautiful is a very sunny day. All is running well. Thank you. Good. Well, I'm looking forward to hearing about the activities you're involved with because it seems that this is a very important part of the Koli Masati experience. Yes. As an opponent said, after all this talk about wine, what could be better to talk about the hospitality to pair with with the hospitality area. Which came just after the the wine cellar. Let's say they started with not really a renovation, but a restoration of the places it was like an old hamlet, which was used by private families called it's very close by to the seller. It's just about two kilometers. They started a huge restoration of displays in two thousand ten and they just finished, late in two thousand sixteen, seventeen. At this point, they started to host people in our place. Actually, we do have, twenty two rooms in the main, and two private villas really placed in the middle of nowhere surrounded by vineyards and all history. That sounds incredible, Nicole. I'm I'm just one of our listeners to be clear here. The the this borgo, tenuto de monte cucko. Is that the right name? Yes. This is the right name. Tenuto de monte cucko, which is a completely part of Cola Masari. Of the column asari wine estate of the group. Was it abandoned when the family found it? No. People were still living there. No. No. It was still with private family. They are just the last family left the border in the two thousand eight and at this time, just to keep a family decided to extend, let's say, day business with the hospitality area. Okay. So that sounds really interesting. And I wonder our listeners to, gain a picture of these Borgi that are found in Tuscany that perhaps were almost like mini villages where several families would live together, often working the, and self contained community. So in a sense is your own self contained hospitality community now. Yes. What have you got there? What are what do you have there? You have the rooms in the main house. You have the two villas isolated in the beautiful countryside. And at, tenuta de Montecucco, is there is that where the restaurant is located? Yes. Correct. It's, a circle of sprew down. Hotend because we have different buildings. And one building is dedicated to the restaurant. The the surrounding Granite is located in our front door building. And also we have Casa Padronale, which, has other rooms. In our tenuta, there is also a church and also the church was completely restored in the two thousand ten. It's a consecrated church and this can allow us all due to host events like weddings or other private events. Okay. And is the Frantorio actually still there? The Frantoya building is still there, but it's not longer used as a Frantorio. Because we have another Frontier, very close by to the seller where we can press our allies. We just kept the name, the old names of the building, Casa Padronale, and Frantoya, for instance. Okay. So it's a spread out, hotel in this old borgo with the restaurant, the church. Some more people can come and relax. Are there other features? Is there a swimming pool, for example? Yes. Of course. It's activity. We can we can talk about the pool. It's a beautiful pool with a nice view on the ongrown boundary. We have actually just one pool. We have also a gym and some e bikes to want our guests to explore the area in the most property way. That sounds great. In fact, I was just going to ask you about excursions on bicycles. I'm a cyclist myself, and I would imagine that it's a really beautiful area to explore on bike. Yes. It is of course. You can do it on your own. With an ebike, you can also external all our vineyards or otherwise, let me say the best way would be to get a guide to explore all the area of Montecocco because as Anappo already said, it's very huge, and it's really not yet discovered. So it's a lot to say and to discover here. Okay. And so you can help with with finding a guide Israel. What about four people that want to come and just taste wines and not stay? What are the opportunities for tasting wines? Of course, there is a there is a very strong connection with wine estate. Everything here on Kola Masawi's about wine. All our states might include a bottle of wine as a manatee's in the room upon arrival. And the main activity we do offer is seller tools in Kola Masawi with a few wine tasting level. And also, we have the chance to offer a tour to our old wine estate. You already mentioned Pojorie Sotto and Ratamako. And this could be a very two full days experience. Okay. So it really is a center for wine lovers to make too. Well, it sounds absolutely beautiful. Is there anything else you'd like to add about hospitality, Nicola? Yes. We we are right right now. Working again on the hospitality area, renovating some rooms, and we are really turning it up in a wine relay. It's such an upgrade to our, hospitality just to be on the same level of the wine And so we will get very soon six new suites. Some with garden, some with garden view, and some with sunset view. So it's, the best way I mean, to enjoy a good glass of wines and relax in this area, which is really, really, really unique in this in this region. Well, that sounds beautiful, and I'm just imagining that glass of wine while watching a beautiful sunset going over the hills. Nikola and Annapala, it's been great meeting you both this morning talking to you and learning much more about not only Castello Colle Masari, but also about Montecucco. This, less well known part of Southern Tuscany that really is somewhere that wine lovers should discover because it's not easy to find places in Tuscany that are still undiscovered. I would love to come and visit you and see this borgo and the castle myself and taste your wines, and I'm sure our listeners will too. So thank you very much for taking us to your world. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to share our territory, and you will are more than welcome to come and see us anytime and all our listeners as well. And to come and discover. Thank you much. Thank you very much. Thank you whenever you you want, we are here. Great. I'll look forward to that. And in the meantime, I hope you have a a very good day. Thank you very much to you too. We hope today's episode of wine food and travel with me, Mark Millen on the Italian wine podcast has transported you to somewhere special. Please remember to like, share, and subscribe wherever you get your pods. Likewise, you can visit us at Italian wine podcast dot com. Until next time, Chinchin.