La Querce Seconda is an organic winery in the La Romola locality (‘frazione’) in San Casciano in Val di Pesa in the extreme north-west of the Chianti Classico region,  Tuscany, Italy. A portion of the estate’s vineyards are also located in the Chianti DOCG. 

Owner: Niccolò Bernabei. Second generation of a winemaking family. Took over here in 1995 with his partner, Linda Sandkvist.

Vineyards: 45ha of land in total. 9ha of vines or which 5.5ha of Chianti Classico, and 3.5ha of Chianti DOCG. Two vineyard sites 8 miles (13km) apart, in both the north and central parts of San Casciano. At La Romola in the northern sector and which is part of Chianti Classico, the vines are on poor, low fertility ‘galestro‘ soils. This area is open to direct moderating influences from the Tyrrhenian Sea to the west (‘not a deep valley, unlike Greve.’). In contrast, vines in the western sector (Villa Le Corti/Terzona) area are on ‘alberese‘, with sand but little clay (‘elegant wines’), and influenced climatically from the Arno river valley (‘Val d’Arno’). This is in the Chianti DOCG.

Organic certification: 2015 First vintage with full organic certification.

Red wines

Chianti DOCG, La Querce Seconda: 2015 100% Sangiovese.

Chianti Classico DOCG, La Querce Seconda: 2015 100% Sangiovese. Ripe, rich, flattering, bit of reduction at the end but well put together (Chianti Classico Anteprima 2018).

Chianti Classico DOCG Riserva, La Querce Seconda | 2008 100% Sangiovese. £15-29.99. Old saddles and leather and brett too. Second bottle the same: old wood, brett and TCA. No medal at DWWA 29th April 2013. | 2012 100% Sangiovese.

Contact

La Querce Seconda

Via Treggiaia, 128

Romola

50020 San Casciano Val di Pesa (FI), Italy

Tel+39 0571 606049 | Website: See here.

Bibliography

Chianti Classico Anteprima, Stazione Leopolda, Florence on Monday 12th February 2018.

DWWA, Decanter World Wine Awards (blind tasting organised by Decanter magazine).

Telephone interview with Niccolò Bernabei on 26 October 2018.