Il Molino di Grace
Frank Grace acquired this estate in 1995 after holidaying in Tuscany with his wife and having fallen for the charm of this idyllic region.
No surprise given his origins in the state of Ohio, with nothing special and dominated by steel production. After major renovation and a partial replanting of the vines in 1999, the winery reopened its doors under the direction of Gerhard Hirmer, with Franco Bernabei, a well known figure in Italy, as winemaker. Marketing is left to Tim, Frank's son, and success has not been long in coming: in 2004 the Gambero Rosso guide raised expectations and in 2005 Decanter designated the estate one of the 25 best in Italy.
Il Molino di Grace, a historic old windmill, marks the entrance to the estate ('tenuta') a few kilometres south of Panzano amongst the hills of Chianti Classico. Sangiovese naturally plays the main role on the 14 hectare site at an altitude of 280 to 450 metres. Pockets of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah and Canaiolo round out the complement of varietals. The oldest vines planted 55 years ago are reserved for the Gratius, the flagship wine made exclusively from Sangiovese grown on a soil called Gastestro, the best in Chianti, composed of clay-limestone marl and pebbles.
The viticulture adopts natural methods where possible, avoiding chemical fertilisers, herbicides and pesticides. The winemaking extends this approach with respect for indigenous yeasts and as little intervention as possible, and ageing is done in wood that integrates well with the structure of each wine. Most of the wines are not filtered, which can mean some sediment on ageing, leaving a rugged wine of full intensity and guaranteeing greater longevity. Here we present the Chianti Classico, a wine free of chic and fad but as it should be: honest, reliable and open. And that's why it finds friends even among the most sceptical of wine lovers.
Red wines from Il Molino di Grace
Delicatessen from Il Molino di Grace
from Il Molino di Grace
Producer
Merryvale Vineyards
At a young age, Jack Schlatter travelled from Switzerland to Dallas in the 1950s to work in the cotton trade. He later moved to Mexico and São Paulo (as a coffee tester) and back to Zurich to develop the cotton business in the Eastern bloc. But he always had one foot in Dallas and entered the real estate business there. The wine business also appealed to him early on. But it was a while before he met Bill Harlan, the owner of Merryvale.
Park
For many years Baur au Lac Wines has been Switzerland's exclusive importer of the sumptuous Cognacs created by Dominic Park. The story goes back to the 1990s when Dominic Park decided to leave his job as a wine trader in London to create his own cognac house with the style he wanted. This is summed up by a very clean vision of what cognac should be: insist on the best origins and a very precise distillation and ageing to give a high-class product in a modern, elegant bottle.
Bodegas Amézola de la Mora
The Amézola de la Mora family vineyard originated in the 19th century. Already then it enjoyed a good reputation in large parts of the country. With the appearance of the dreaded phylloxera plague, however, production unfortunately came to an end. In 1986, Iñigo Amézola de la Mora brought the family estate back to life.