Fattoria Selvapiana

Selvapiana has belonged to one family since 1827, when the Florentine banker Michele Giuntini bought it. Francesco Giuntini ran the estate from 1957 to 1997. He had no children, so he adopted Federico and Silvia, whose father was his estate manager, and the two of them run Selvapiana today.

Rufina lies east of Florence in the Apennine foothills, and it's cooler than Chianti Classico. The Sangiovese here is finer and brighter, with the acidity to age for decades. Every red ferments with native yeasts, and Federico has moved most of the Riserva aging out of small barrels and into large casks. There are 58 hectares of vines on a 250-hectare estate, farmed organically, and Franco Bernabei has consulted here since 1978.

The two single-vineyard Riservas are the wines to know. Bucerchiale was first made in 1979, and a 2010 I tasted at the estate still had decades in it. Erchi comes from a vineyard the family bought in 1998. The old cellar holds every Riserva vintage back to 1948.