Campinuovi

Daniele Rosellini and Nadia Riguccini

Campinuovi grew from the meeting of Daniele Rosellini and Nadia Riguccini, both graduates in Agricultural Sciences in Florence. Daniele subsequently specialized in Viticulture and Oenology in Turin, where he worked with Piedmontese grape varieties. He then returned to Tuscany and collaborated with the University of Florence on a study of Brunello di Montalcino. His professional path also included work as an agronomist and winemaker, consultancy and estate management, and a period as oenologist for the Chianti Classico consorzio.

After returning from Piedmont, Daniele met Giulio Gambelli, whom he regarded as his maestro. They worked together at Gianfranco Soldera’s Case Basse in Montalcino and at the Sanjust family’s Fattoria Petrolo in Mercatale Valdarno. From Gambelli, Daniele absorbed the principle that wine begins in the vineyard and reflects the combined influence of soil, sunlight, rain and wind. He also learned to guide each vine toward balanced, naturally achieved fruit quality.

Nadia came from a family in which both parents belonged to generations of farmers. After completing her degree, she developed her knowledge of organic and biodynamic agriculture alongside the technical and economic skills required for estate management. Daniele and Nadia met in an agricultural microbiology laboratory. Their partnership led both to Campinuovi and to a family of three children.

The search for an estate

Daniele and Nadia wanted a farm of their own through which their work and convictions could take material form. Their objective was a small estate capable of pursuing an ambitious idea: an authentic wine arising from the bond between place and human work.

They searched different parts of Tuscany for two years. None of the properties and possibilities they examined convinced them until, in 2000, they were almost jokingly offered a hill whose fields had been abandoned for more than ten years and no longer attracted interest. A few days spent investigating the thorn-covered slopes persuaded them that they had found the right place.

2000: Campinuovi takes shape

Campinuovi began in 2000 with 25 hectares on the hills at the foot of Monte Amiata, 20 kilometres south of Montalcino and overlooking the broad Maremma plain. Daniele chose Montecucco for the combination of soils and climate available for Sangiovese. The name has been explained as Campi Nuovi—“new fields”—in reference to establishing vineyards on previously unplanted ground.

The estate subsequently developed 9.5 hectares of vineyards. Sangiovese became the dominant variety, while approximately 10% of the vines comprise Colorino, Pugnitello, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and the white variety Ansonica. Production reached approximately 45,000 bottles while some vineyards were still approaching full production.

At Campinuovi, Daniele applied the vineyard-centered approach learned from Gambelli. Organic and biodynamic cultivation, separate vinification by variety and plot, spontaneous fermentation, restrained cellar intervention and long maturation in large oak vessels became the practical expression of that approach.

Position and elevation

Campinuovi occupies a high-hill setting at the foot of Monte Amiata. Its vineyards lie together on a south- to south-west-facing hillside oriented toward the sea, between 350 and 465 metres above sea level. The estate is approximately 20 km south of Montalcino and looks across the Maremma plain. Monte Amiata and the Tyrrhenian Sea are each approximately 40 km away.

Geology and soils

The vineyards display considerable soil variation within an area of less than ten hectares. The geological foundation derives from Ligurian and Sub-Ligurian units dating from the Triassic to Oligocene. These heterogeneous flysch formations are dominated by shales and siltstones, with lithoid zones of limestone and marly limestone. Recurring materials include graded calcarenites, fine sandstone, silt with oblique and parallel lamination, occasionally siliceous fine-grained calcarenites, marly limestone and marl.

The principal soil types are:

• coarse, sandy soils derived from fractured sandstone and rich in organic matter;
• sandy clay interspersed with alluvial pebbles and predominantly iron-rich conglomerates;
• sandy clay interspersed with alluvial pebbles and predominantly calcareous conglomerates;
• silty clay;
• marly clay with calcareous intercalations.

This mosaic ranges from marl and clay schist through sandstone to iron- and limestone-matrix conglomerates. The estate associates the resulting range of mineral characteristics with added aromatic complexity, particularly in Sangiovese.

Water

Water descending from Monte Amiata toward the Maremma plain flows abundantly beneath the hill. Deep-growing vine roots can reach this underground resource during dry vintages. A natural spring is also present on the property.

Light, heat and air currents

The climate is Mediterranean, with abundant light and warmth supporting complete polyphenolic ripening. The position between Monte Amiata and the Tyrrhenian Sea creates a distinctive circulation of thermal currents, especially in spring and summer. Summer vineyard temperatures consequently avoid extreme peaks, helping protect aromatic precursors as the berries ripen. The site’s day-to-night temperature variation further preserves aromatic compounds and contributes to the fruit character associated with the grapes.

Cultivation is organized around close management of both soil and vines under certified organic and biodynamic farming.

Immediately after harvest in autumn, every row is worked with a five-point ripper. Its tines open the soil at depth so that oxygen and winter rainfall can penetrate. The operation is intended to regenerate the soil and build the water reserve needed during the following growing season.

After this autumn cultivation, alternate rows are sown with a green-manure mixture of legumes, grasses and brassicas. These plants maintain soil structure and porosity while supplying organic matter naturally. They are mown and incorporated into the soil in spring.

Light, shallow harrowing during spring and summer controls competing vegetation, aerates the surface and interrupts capillary water movement, reducing evaporation. Soil beneath the vine row is worked mechanically with an inter-vine cultivator.

Canopy work seeks to balance fruit production while maintaining ventilation and effective interception of sunlight. The vines are neither leaf-plucked nor topped. Cluster thinning is also avoided because the estate obtains balanced ripening naturally at yields of approximately 0.70–1 kg per vine.

Plant-protection treatments are restricted to copper and mineral sulphur. Annual metallic-copper use remains below 2 kg per hectare. Biodynamic preparations are distributed during the year in accordance with the biodynamic calendar, with timing also adjusted to soil conditions and the development of the vines.

Campinuovi is certified organic and biodynamic and adheres to the Renaissance du Terroir quality charter.

Separate vinification and fermentation

Grapes are vinified separately by variety and by plot so that the distinctions among individual vineyards are retained. At destemming and gentle crushing, only a few grams of potassium metabisulphite are added.

The crushed grapes enter 70 hl truncated-conical Slavonian oak vats. Alcoholic fermentation begins spontaneously through yeasts naturally present on the grapes and in the cellar. No enzymes, yeast nutrients, tannins or other oenological additives are introduced into the fermenting must.

Skin maceration is managed through pump-overs, punch-downs and délestage. The choice and timing of these operations respond to the natural evolution of temperature, the decline in sugars and, above all, the must’s sensory characteristics.

At the end of alcoholic fermentation, the wine is run off and the free-run fraction is separated from the pomace. The pomace then undergoes gentle pneumatic pressing.

Malolactic fermentation and maturation

The young wine remains on its fine lees. Malolactic fermentation occurs spontaneously in the oak vats and 20 hl oak casks and is usually complete by Christmas. The same vats and casks are then used for subsequent maturation.

Red wines are matured without barriques. Stainless-steel tanks serve only for transfers and short-term storage. The standard wines mature for a minimum of one year; Riserva matures for at least 24 months, including a second year in a 20 hl oak cask.

Bottling and bottle ageing

Bottling is performed manually without fining or filtration. Total sulphur dioxide is generally below 50 mg/l. Release begins only after at least three months in bottle, extended to a minimum of six months for Riserva.