Fattoria di Rodano Poggialupi Toscana 2025

Poggialupi 2025, the sincere face of Rodano

In this Tuscan red, Sangiovese meets Merlot: two grape varieties, one origin, and oak barrel aging that supports the wine without making you forget its place. I also love what its story tells: that of a family long oriented toward local wine shops, which chose to put its own bottles forward starting in the 1960s. The 2025 vintage comes from organic farming.

A Tuscan plot along the roads of Chianti

Fattoria di Rodano is located near Castellina in Chianti, in the heart of Tuscany. The estate, with medieval origins, stretches along a road that links the Elsa Valley to the town and follows part of the Via Francigena, an ancient pilgrimage route to Rome. The vines grow on the hillsides, between 200 and 300 meters above sea level, in the western part of the classic Chianti zone. The source describes a mild, temperate climate here, without specifying the nature of the soils: I prefer to stick to these concrete reference points.

The Pozzesi family has headed the estate since the 16th century. In the 1960s, it began bottling its own wine, rather than sending most of its production to the neighboring wine shops. Enrico Pozzesi now runs the company, after the death of his father Vittorio in 2012. For this Poggialupi, the blend combines 70% Sangiovese and 30% Merlot. The grapes, hand-harvested from vines farmed organically, are selected before a vinification with indigenous yeasts. The two varieties macerate separately: twenty days for the Sangiovese, ten for the Merlot. The wine is then aged in oak barrels; the sheet mentions eight months, while the general description of the aging gives a duration of eight to twelve months.

The sources give no detailed notes on color, aromas or flavors: so I will not invent a bouquet of fruit or a precise texture. They do, however, place the wine in the middle of several style scales: fruity and spicy are both rated 5 out of 9, the influence of wood 5 out of 9, and body 6 out of 9. These indications outline the announced profile, without claiming to replace a tasting. You can thus approach it as a red of medium to firm structure, where fruit, spices and aging are presented as relatively balanced.

At the table, without ceremony

At the table, I would pair it with white meats, cured meats, pasta, or red meat, which are the pairings suggested for this wine. A generous pasta dish or a platter of cold cuts makes it easy to serve, while a red meat dish turns it into a more substantial dining companion. The listing classifies it as IGP Toscana: a useful reference for placing its origin, without confusing it with a Chianti appellation. If you want an organic red tied to a family story and a specific terroir, the Poggialupi 2025 deserves a place at your table.