Agapanthus, Hellebore and now Apistos, i.e. Incredible, an imaginary flower imagined by Silvia Cirri who, together with Livio Aloisi and family and friends, transformed a dream into Farm Conca, in the elegant land of Bolgheri, where precious wines rich in stories are made, captivating and loved wines in the world as it is in the ropes of this corner of Tuscany.
Agapanto, Elleboro and Apistos are the names of the three wines of Podere Conca. Three labels where flowers are the masters as in the garden of the house with red shutters that dominates the farm.
This year we celebrate the first five years with a vertical of Agapanto 2016, 2017,2018, 2019, 2020 and the arrival on the table of Apistos.
A new cellar, with its modern concrete tanks looking like a tulip chalice, the 'tulips', and Apistos, are the new goals for the Cirri and Aloisi farm. Ten hectares of vineyards, thirty thousand bottles overall, between red and white.
Apistos is a pure Cabernet Franc which spends 16 months in barrique, 14 degrees, a cru of 1500 bottles, elegant on the nose with herbaceous and green pepper notes. THEThe 2019 is complex, velvety and harmonious and goes well with first courses with meat sauce, with red meats and game. The label of this IGT is sunny, with oranges turning red and hints of yellow surrounded by a blue halo. A little jewel of which she is particularly proud Silvia Cirri, a doctor by profession – is Head Doctor at the Sant'Ambrogio Clinical Institute of the San Donato Group in Milan – 'vigneron' for passion, engaged together with Livio Aloisi and collaborators in making wines ever more seductive. Assisting her in her work is the young winemaker-agronomist Linda Franceschi.
And it is from Agapanto that the Bolgheri adventure started, a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Ciliegiolo that ages for twelve months in wood and at least six months in the bottle. Podere Conca's DOC is a voluptuous wine, with notes of red fruits on the nose, persistent and harmonious in the mouth. Splendidly combinable with cured meats, cheeses and red meats. Its name comes from the Greek agàpe (love), and anthos (flower).
Then there is Elleboro, the white of Podere Conca, an IGT made of Viognier, Sauvignon blanc and Chardonnay. Excellent as an aperitif and for fish-based dishes, it is the ideal companion for a light summer meal. It is very popular in Florida, they tell us at the table while tasting it with a Roman porchetta-based aperitif. Its sapidity and powerful entry into the mouth make it a decidedly attractive wine. The Florida quote leads to suggestions. So we like to imagine Ernest Hemingway with a glass of hellebore in his hand in his home in Florida. The writer looks at the bright color, takes a sip. “This is a fantastic wine” he exclaims cuddling one of his cats in his Key West villa. Suggestions indeed. After all, it was he who wrote and still tells us today that "Wine is one of the greatest signs of civilization in the world and one of the natural things in the world brought to the utmost perfection ...". The author of "The Old Man and the Sea" who found inspiration for the character of Santiago in Key West and wrote the novel that earned him the Nobel Prize for Literature would have greatly appreciated Podere Conca's wine, and not just the white!
Podere Conca
Bolgheri Provincial Road, 196
57022 Castagneto Carducci (LI)
