Aging: Only free run wine; new barriques (“cult” selection from Tonnellerie Baron) for 14 months without racking; transferred to stainless prior to bottling.
Bottling: Fining prior and light filtration at bottling on March 23, 2022.

Analytic Data
Alcohol: 14.35%
pH: 3.55
Total Acidity: 5.50 g/l
Volatile Acidity: 0.33 g/l
Residual Sugar: 0.10 g/l
Bottiglie prodotte: 1,320
Wood cases x 6 bottles.
Bottle weight: 580g
Cork: Mureddu Grand Cru 26 x 54; Portugal; imprinted  ‘2020' on both heads; covered with soft wax. 

Vineyard Location: Podere Albiano, Petroio (SI)
Soil: 380 meters altitude; sedimentary, sandstone and a significant presence of clay. Vinification: Grapes refrigerated to 3 celsius prior to a meticulous destemming; only slight crushing of the berries before filling 26 HL, temperature controlled stainless steel vats; cold soaked for three days and then inoculated; punch down of the cap and some pumping over, with peak temperature not exceeding 26C; co-inoculated with ML Prime at the beginning of primary fermentation to complete ML simultaneously; separated from the skins in fourteen days when the wine was completely dry; after three decants, the new wines was put into wood.

​
Vineyard Location : Podere Borgo Santinovo di Federico Taddei, Colle di Val d’Elsa (SI) Soil: 250 meters altitude; mix of clay with strong presence of red sand. Vinification: Grapes refrigerated to 3 celsius prior to a meticulous destemming; only slight crushing of the berries before filling 26 HL, temperature controlled stainless steel vats; cold soaked for three days and then inoculated; punch down of the cap and some pumping over, with peak temperature not exceeding 26C; co-inoculated with ML Prime at the beginning of primary fermentation to complete ML simultaneously; separated from the skins in fourteen days when the wine was completely dry; after three decants, the new wines was put into wood.

Center stage at Cerbaiona is reserved for the estate’s cru Brunello and a limited amount of Rosso di Montalcino, but other wines are also produced in its cellars.

Part garagiste, part petit château, the production that carries the label M.L. Fioretti began in 2018 with the 930 bottle production of Casaglia Colorino Toscana IGT. The current releases are from the 2020 vintage: San Vito Toscana IGT (100% Merlot) e Santinovo Toscana IGT (80% Cabernet Franc/20% Cabernet Sauvignon), 1200 e 1,320 bottles produced, respectively. 

​2020 Santinovo Toscana Rosso IGT (80% Cabernet Franc/20% Cabernet Sauvginon)

These wines reflect Fioretti’s desire to work with varietals other than Sangiovese and, at the same time, put to the test his belief that vineyards and exceptional sites can - and do - exist outside the recognised, more prestigious appellations. In fact, working outside an appellation will more likely uncover a singular vineyard location and the merits of an impeccable grower: This is realm of pure merit; of discovery; and the open landscape where an utterly unique vineyard and superior quality can be revealed. 

2020 San Vito Toscana Rosso IGT (Merlot)
​

In 2016, Matthew Fioretti, the founding partner of Cerbaiona’s new ownership, began replanting the vineyards of the estate and embarked upon a complete rebuild of the historic cellars. He then went a step further and added a state-of-the-art vinification cellar and full laboratory. For an estate that farms only four hectares of vineyards, it is extremely rare to find such an extensive level of detail in winemaking, both in the tools available, to the level of the people involved in the work. All of this was built in order to provide the best circumstances for the production of one of Montalcino’s mostly highly recognised crus: Cerbaiona. But Fioretti did not want to stop there.

Fioretti explains: “I imagine that the ambition of every aspiring violinist is to one day have the privilege to play a Stradivari. A Stradivari is the one violin, more than any other, that allows the artist to reach his highest level of performance and achieve the most perfect sound. When you have an instrument of superior quality, you want to use it not only for your most important concerts. You desire to use it in your daily study, or in my case, to “play the sounds” of varietals beyond the sangiovese of Cerbaiona.” 

Aging: Only free run wine; new barriques (“cult” selection from Tonnellerie Baron) for 14 months without racking; transferred to stainless prior to bottling. Bottling: Fining prior and light filtration at bottling on March 23, 2022.

​Analytic Data
Alcohol: 14.38%
pH: 3.44
Total Acidity: 5.60 g/l
Volatile Acidity: 0.39 g/l
Residual Sugar : 0.15 g/l
Bottles produced: 1,200
Wood cases x 6 bottles.
Bottle weight: 580g
Cork: Mureddu Grand Cru 26 x 54; Portugal; imprinted ‘2020' on both heads; covered with soft wax. 

The Bordeaux Vision

The initial project to produce other wines in the cellars of Cerbaiona began with the lease of a two hectare vineyard divided equally between Colorino del Valdarno and Pinot Noir and located just north of Florence, near the hamlet of Casaglia. The vineyard’s owner, Marchese Pancrazi, had passed away the year before and until 2005 he had produced a monovarietal Colorino Casagalia, in addition to his well known Pinot Nero. The Colorino del Valdarno in this vineyard is likely a unique biotype. Indeed, the wine it produces is unlike the more tannic and monolithic versions of Colorino found elsewhere. Fioretti held the conviction that the Casaglia Colorino was withholding an unexpressed potential. All it needed were a few changes in how the vineyard was managed and a refined and precise cellar to transform it. Once bottled, the 2018 M.L. Fioretti Casaglia was the confirmation of these initial insights and intuitions: In lesser known places, opportunities exists to produce singular wines.

However, to tailor wines of the highest level of craftsmanship, Fioretti decided he also wanted to work with the finest fabric, and this forced him to reflect on Bordeaux varietals. And all the more because in many cases, over the passed twenty years, the initial enthusiasm for these varietals in Tuscany was often discarded and relegated as démodé. As Fioretti saw it, this probably meant that exceptional and perfectly aged vineyards were being overlooked

In 2019 Fioretti vinified San Vito Toscana IGT from less than a hectare of Merlot at podere Albiano, owned by Alberto Turri and located just a few kilometres from Pienza. That same vintage he undertook the first trial vinification of ten quintals of Cabernet Franc from an old vineyard block located the small estate, Borgo Santinovo, owned by Federico Taddei in Colle di Val d’Elsa.

The first vinifications of San Vito and Santinovo where once again the proof of unrealised potential and also the confirmation that the high quality Bordeaux varietals, when planted in the right place, is of greater value than insisting upon local varietals at all cost. Few grapes offer the completeness of Bordeaux varietals. Their presence in Tuscany is an existing patrimony to explore and exalt, much more than an influence of internationalisation.

In March of that same year, Fioretti planted 17,600 vines of Cabernet Franc and Merlot at the high density of 14,700 plants per hectare, spaced according to the ancient, roman layout of settonce, and to be trained as alberello. This magnificent site is located at 450 meters altitude, just below the walls of Pienza and borders the Pieve di Corsignano, a romanesque, architectural treasure from which the vineyard takes its topographical name. It is believed that on this same sight, the Etruscans also cultivated a vineyard. The first micro vinifications from Pieve di Corsignano were conducted from the 2022 vintage.