Cigliano di Sopra, Vigneto Branca Chianti Classico Riserva 2022

Vigneto Branca is a single-vineyard Riserva made from old vines planted in 1972. The 2022 was fermented using 100% whole bunches, a deliberate choice that brings perfume, freshness and additional structure while preserving the character of the vineyard. Cigliano’s reds spend a minimum of a year in oak; the estate has increasingly moved towards larger-format casks as Maddalena Fucile and Matteo Vaccari refine the style of the wines. 

The result is the more profound and structured of the two Chianti Classicos: still unmistakably Sangiovese, but with greater depth, mineral tension and ageing potential. Production is tiny, making Vigneto Branca a genuinely limited expression of this remarkable little estate.

One of the most exciting new names to emerge from Chianti Classico, Cigliano di Sopra is the project of Maddalena Fucile and Matteo Vaccari, two young winemakers bringing fresh energy to Maddalena’s historic family estate at San Casciano in Val di Pesa.

The property itself is anything but new. Set among vineyards, olive groves and woodland just south of Florence, the 32-hectare estate has been in Maddalena’s family for generations. Today around eight hectares are under vine, farmed organically, with Sangiovese at the heart of the estate. 

Maddalena and Matteo studied viticulture and oenology together at the University of Florence before gaining experience both at home and abroad. Most significantly, they worked in California and Oregon alongside Rajat Parr and Sashi Moorman at Domaine de la Côte and Evening Land, an experience they credit with opening their minds to a more precise, expressive and less conventional approach to wine. Returning to Tuscany, they began developing Cigliano di Sopra in earnest, producing just 1,000 bottles in 2016. 

Their ambition isn’t to reinvent Chianti Classico, but to reveal it with remarkable clarity. The estate is divided into individual parcels, with sandy and clay-rich soils scattered with ancient river stones. Farming is meticulous, intervention in the cellar is restrained, and production remains tiny. Rather than buying fruit to expand, Maddalena and Matteo are committed to working solely with grapes grown on the estate.

The resulting wines have an arresting combination of perfume, freshness, fine tannin and unmistakable Sangiovese character. They feel contemporary without losing their Tuscan identity; elegant, energetic wines that are rapidly establishing Cigliano di Sopra as one of the names to watch in Chianti Classico.