Storia
Historical setting
The historical context of Spaltenna centres on the Pieve di Santa Maria a Spaltenna. Together with San Giusto in Salcio, San Polo in Rosso, San Marcellino and San Vincenti, it is identified as a rural settlement originating in the Roman period.
The churches shared a three-aisled plan: a central nave and two side aisles divided by quadrangular pillars and terminating in a semicircular apse. Santa Maria a Spaltenna is faced with narrow courses of ash-grey alberese stone, a treatment also used on the tall bell tower beside the façade. Two towers at the downhill corners of the large structure and surviving arrow slits attest to its fortified character.
Contemporary estate
Castello di Spaltenna now combines wine production with a five-star hotel, restaurants, a spa, tastings and a retail workshop in Località Pieve di Spaltenna, Gaiole in Chianti. Its current wine selection encompasses Toscana IGT rosato, Vin Santo del Chianti Classico DOC and three levels of Chianti Classico DOCG: annata, Riserva and Gran Selezione.
Terroir
Castello di Spaltenna is located in Località Pieve di Spaltenna at Gaiole in Chianti, in the province of Siena and within the Chianti Classico area. The property lies amid the hills of the Sienese countryside. Its accommodation terraces, restaurant terrace, spa grounds and outdoor relaxation areas overlook the estate’s Sangiovese vines.
The Pieve di Santa Maria a Spaltenna is distinguished by narrow courses of ash-grey alberese stone. No corresponding geological or soil profile is supplied for the vineyards.
Vinificazione
Sangiovese grapes are cultivated on the grounds surrounding the resort. The estate also grows olives, and both crops inform treatments offered by La Pieve Spa. No specific vineyard-management regime, certification, soil-working practice, canopy programme, yield control, plant-protection method or harvesting protocol is described.
The current range is presented as a five-wine selection comprising Toscana IGT rosato, Vin Santo del Chianti Classico DOC, Chianti Classico DOCG, Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG and Chianti Classico Gran Selezione DOCG. The Gran Selezione is produced only in the best years and is intended for extended ageing.
A 2021 restaurant wine list preserves an earlier snapshot of the estate range. Its Castello section includes Chianti Classico DOCG made from Sangiovese; Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG made from Sangiovese; Cantina del Pievano Gran Selezione DOCG vintages blending Sangiovese, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon; a Sangiovese rosato IGT; and Vin Santo del Chianti DOC made from Trebbiano and Malvasia.
No cellar layout, reception or sorting procedure, fermentation method, extraction regime, maturation vessel, ageing duration, stabilization, filtration, sulphur policy or bottling protocol is specified.
Filosofia
Castello di Spaltenna defines its wine identity through tradition, authenticity and passion. Its hospitality programme places wine within the food culture of Chianti: estate labels are served alongside regional foods, while tastings explore both the castle’s production and the wider Tuscan context.
The Gran Selezione expresses a selective approach to vintage: it is reserved for the best years and positioned as the highest level of the estate’s Chianti Classico selection, with elegance, austerity, softness and ageing capacity as its stated objectives.