Character and soul. If we’re talking frankly, these are not virtues we typically associate with the modern-day wines of Chianti. Yet there are obviously exceptions and one of these is Aljoscha Goldschmidt’s Corzano e Paterno. With a dirt-under-the-fingernails approach, Goldschmidt and his team craft a small yet vibrant collection of wines from the steep, stony slopes of San Casciano in Val di Pesa, just south of Florence, on the Chianti Classico border. 

Aljoscha (or Joshi) loves to do everything by hand, making him unique in the Tuscan wine scene. Here, consultants with new oak and viticultural gizmos are not welcome, and stately buildings, manicured gardens and tourist trap paraphernalia are replaced by a naturally beautiful working farm in the hills, studded with ancient buildings that have been tastefully maintained (you can rent these farmhouses, an option that we very highly recommend!). 

An intuitive viticulturist, driven by his own philosophy about authenticity and sense of place, Goldschmidt's current crop of wines sing of their homeland while also delivering fabulous drinkability and genuine value.

The winery has just what is required to make pure, expressive wines—including some large format oak (a rarity in Chianti). The wines are fashioned from ripe, juicy Sangiovese with a rare patience and a kind of pastoral serenity. They are complemented by some of Italy’s finest Pecorino, made from the estate’s own Sardinian sheep. In fact, in Italy, Corzano is as well known for its cheese as it is for its wine and supplies many top Italian restaurants. On a recent visit we asked Aljoscha if we could ship some of his cheese to the Australian market. “I’m so sorry,” he said in his gentle voice. “We do not have any to sell. We do not want to grow and if we started exporting, we would have to cut our allocations to our oldest clients which would not be fair.” It’s hard to argue with such integrity no matter how delicious the product. 

Corzano also produces one of Tuscany’s most intense small batch olive oils. In fact, everything the Corzano e Paterno farm produces tastes fresh and delicious, and everyone who works at the estate exudes both a sense of purpose and a down to earth, unpretentious, bucolic warmth which comes through in the products of this communal style farm. Visiting there and staying on the farm, you get the impression that produce is solely being created to cater for the collection of craftsmen, artists and artisans who inhabit the Corzano estate, such is the non-commercial atmosphere. Somehow this makes the wines taste even better.