Massa Vecchia Vita Bianco is a Malvasia bianca di Candia from Beruzzo vineyard. Wonderfully fragrant, full of energy with delicate notes of apricot, orange flowers, honey and almonds. The palate is lively, zesty , complex and perfectly balanced.
MASSA VECCHIA, FRANCESCA SFRONDINI, MASSA MARITIMA
Fabrizio Niccolaini’s wine vision is, if not unique, then original and of another era. His farm, which he inherited from his father and grandfather, is a mere 6 hectares (3.5 planted with vines). And within that tiny plot are such white grapes as Vermentino, Ansonica, Sauvignon Blanc, Trebbiano, and Malvasia di Candia, and red varieties such as Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Aleatico, Sangiovese, Alicante, and Malvasia Nera. All are at least 35 years old, including the Cabernet and Merlot, which is unusual as these two varieties are generally only newly planted in Tuscany. He has also recently planted another vineyard with only Sangiovese.
Fabrizio Niccolaini’s wine vision is, if not unique, then original and of another era. His farm, which he inherited from his father and grandfather, is a mere 6 hectares (3.5 planted with vines). And within that tiny plot are such white grapes as Vermentino, Ansonica, Sauvignon Blanc, Trebbiano, and Malvasia di Candia, and red varieties such as Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Aleatico, Sangiovese, Alicante, and Malvasia Nera. All are at least 35 years old, including the Cabernet and Merlot, which is unusual as these two varieties are generally only newly planted in Tuscany. He has also recently planted another vineyard with only Sangiovese.
Fabrizio subscribes to the deceptively simple sustainable agriculture theories of the Japanese farmer-philosopher Masanobu Fukuoka, detailed in his 1975 book, “The One-Straw Revolution.” “We use no chemicals, no herbicides, really not even much in the way of machines,” What little ploughing is done, usually to “rip” the oil between the vine rows to turn over the crop cover, is performed by one of two white, long-horned oxen kept by Fabrizio for this purpose.
Francesca Sfrodrini has taken up the reins with several partners and continues to work the farm with respect for nature and the cycles it imposes.
Francesca Sfrodrini has taken up the reins with several partners and continues to work the farm with respect for nature and the cycles it imposes.