Terreno: An Up and Coming Chianti Classico Winery

Chianti Classico winemaker Sofia Ruhne was born in Sweden but grew up in Greve in Chianti. Her father bought the estate and started making wine in 1988. Sofia entered the winery in 2010 and started making changes.  She started by making the all Sangiovese ASofia from a single parcel of the estate’s oldest vines. The vineyard and wines were certified organic in 2014.  And in 2015 she purchased the 5 ha San Piero a Sillano vineyard in Montefioralle. I tasted the Terreno wines with Sofia at the Anteprima Toscana earlier this year.

Terreno has 20 hectares of vineyards, both in Greve and Montefioralle (see map below).  The Gran Selezione ASofia is from Greve, while the Gran Selezione Sillano is in Montefioralle.  The ASofia vineyard is sandy clay soils, while the Sillano is higher altitude (the highest in Montefioralle) with more limestone.  Today all the fruit is hand picked and all ferments use native yeast. Giacomo Fioravanti is the enologist; he came to Terreno after ten years at famed Isole e Olena.

US Importer: Vintage 59

Giacomo Fioravanti and Sofia Ruhne

The Wines

Terreno 2021 Le Tre Vigne Chianti Classico 92  Medium ruby red. The 2021 vintage reveals a very fresh nose of cranberry and kirsch. On the palate, it’s suave and nicely concentrated with savory notes of herbs and underbrush complementing the fruit. Fermented in open top PVC containers and then aged in large 24hl or 30hl casks for 14 months; each parcel and clone are fermented separately. This is the estate’s flagship, coming from three high elevation sites in the Greve Valley. We also tasted the 2020 vintage which was less structured.

Terreno 2020 Le Bonille di Sopra Chianti Classico Riserva 92 The 2020 Riserva is darker in color and more earthy than the Chianti Classico annata. A light toasty oak note shows on the nose and also contributes to a sensuous mouth feel. Dark berries and underbrush also show on the palate. 85% Sangiovese with roughly 10% Colorino and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon. All lots and clones are micro-fermented spontaneously and separately in open-top fermenters. Elevage goes for two years in 24hl casks, followed by at least one year in bottle before release. Le Bonille di Sopra is at 400m altitude with alberese and other calcareous soils.

Terreno 2020 Asofia Gran Selezione Chianti Classico  93 Translucent ruby with a reticent nose of sweet cherry. A particularly refined Gran Selezione with a silky texture and integrated fruit and herbs. Redolent of grilled sausage. Round tannins and a long, rich finish. ASofia is from the fruit of the estate’s oldest vines, planted in the early 1980s, and made into a wine that sees the estate’s longest élevage of 30 months in neutral 30hl casks. This comes from the Terreno Vineyard (south of Le Bonille), high on the eastern flank of the Greve Valley, rich in macigno and other non-calcareous marine sandstone soils.

Terreno 2020 Sillano Gran Selezione Chianti Classico 94 Starbright ruby color.  Red berries show on the nose, and the mouthfeel is silky. Fresh, fresh fruit is complemented by savory notes of herbs and earth with a mineral like finish. Sourced from the San Piero a Sillano vineyard with limestone soils at 570m altitude, the estate’s highest vineyard surrounded on three sides by forest. It’s in the UGA of Montefioralle, one of four UGAs in the commune of Greve. Sillano is the highest site in the Montefioralle UGA. The bedrock is Pietraforte, a rare, stony calcareous soil. Matured for 18 months in 12hl and 24hl casks, followed by at least one year in bottle before release.