2008 - Flaccianello delle Pieve, Fontodi, Colli della Toscana Centrale

This 2008 Fontodi Flaccinello delle Piave starts off with some smoky, sweet tobacco and spice aromas. On the palate there are lots of very fine, silty-textured tannins giving a firm outline to the wine. It is a little less richly textured in the middle whereas the 2006 had more mid-palate concentration but there is a very long, very savory finish plus a little austerity to the wine. In 2000 Manetti made another change and started to introduce biodynamics: "When I was a child there were always cows on our land as well as vines, so in 2000 I bought four female cows so that they could produce manure to fertilize the soil." The cows are a special local Tuscan breed called Chianina and the idea is to use their manure as fertilizer and to create a more holistic environment.