Luca di Napolli of Castello dei Rampolla visits Wine Decoded HQ

Luci di Napoli visited to share a little wisdom, the history of Castello dei Rampolla and a delicious suite of vino. Enjoy!
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Wow! Talk about personality. Many in Chianti just can't get the blend with Cab and Merlot right. Castello dei Rampole are smashing it.
"There is plenty to like in these new releases from Castello dei Rampolla. Two thousand seventeen was a rough year. Frost in May, hail in August, and hot, dry conditions during the rest of the season had the cumulative effect of reducing the crop by 50%. Rampolla releases their top wines later than most so the current vintage for the dual flagships Sammarco and d'Alceo is 2015. Both wines are incredibly pure and nuanced. Readers will find an unusually open Sammarco in 2015 because of higher percentage of Merlot than has been the norm here. Sustainable farming, minimal intervention in the cellar and great dirt result in some of the most compelling wines of Tuscany, and the world, for that matter." Antonio Galloni
The di Napoli family has owned Rampolla since 1739. Alceo di Napoli inherited the estate in 1965. At the time, Rampolla was essentially a summer residence. Wheat, olive trees and other mixed crops were cultivated, but there were no vineyards. “Alceo di Napoli was a man of extraordinary humility,” Piero Antinori told me recently. “He loved the land. After seeing the potential of the vineyards, we helped him get started and bought some of the first grapes off the property. We were very close in the early days.”
In 1975, Rampolla began making and bottling their own wines under the guidance of legendary oenologist Giacomo Tachis, whose influence is still widely felt. Tragically, Alceo di Napoli passed away unexpectedly in 1991. Di Napoli’s second son, Luca, returned to the estate in 1994 and today manages the property alongside his sister, Maurizia.
PS We left a little conversation in at the end as Luca shared his thoughts on how to handle and drink the wines.
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[@Nunnug]

wonderful and insightful
, grazie !

[@douglasolcott6891]

Dear Luca,
I missed this conversation with the your Australian host and "Wineologist" when it was posted three years ago but let me say it is wonderful to listen to it now with my wife Marianina your cousin, to hear for the first time the history of your involvement in your family's winery and the explanation of how you developed the different varierities of wine you now sell. I am passing this on to my cousins Adriana Dakin and her husband Pete Johnson who are developing vineyards in Mendocino County, California (as well as pear orchards) to see how much of your experience nd "wisdon" they also share. Some day (soon I hope) my wife's health will improve to the extent that we can once again travel to Italy and visit you and your famiy at your vineyard in Tuscany. Incidentlly, a bracnh of my famiily descended from Alexander Murray distill, bottle, and export single malt (and also blended) whiskeys from Scotland and for them the age and wood of the oak barrels, which sometimes come from France, is important in the maturation process and to give the whiskey a distinct taste. So though you indicated you do not like any taste of wood in the wine I would be interested to know how you eliinate that in your maturation process.

[@jamesneilsongrahamloveinth1301]

Not only informative but also convivial occasion. It makes sense to work with, rather than against, nature . . .

[@winedeocded]

Glad you enjoyed watching. Guys like Luca make the Wine World go around!