Castello di Ama
Al Poggio Chardonnay di Toscana IGT – 2024
Region: ITALY - TUSCANY
Castello di Ama
Castello di Ama was founded in 1976, and is located in Gaiole in Chianti, within the additional geographical unit of the same name (UGA), located in the heart of Tuscany. It is located about 12 miles northeast of Siena in the hills of Gaiole. This is the heart of Chianti Classico, a bucolic rolling landscape of woods, vineyards and olive groves.
The estate is currently helmed by CEO Lorenza Sebasti, a member of the second generation of one of the four founding families. Marco Pallanti, who was once the President of the Chianti Classico Consorzio, has been the winemaker and technical director at Castello di Ama since 1982.
The goal of the estate is to have each bottle of Castello di Ama express the uniqueness of the terroir, and be an authentic expression of the vintage. Ama has practiced sustainable viticulture since the end of the 1990s, and recently received Equalitas (Italy) certification.
The Wine
Vineyard Profile
Steep estate vineyard.
- Altitude: 1510-1720 feet/460-525 meters
- Exposure: North-East/South-West
- Soil: Chalky, calcareous clay with pebbly gravel
- Vines Planted: 2008
- Vine Training System: partially open Lyre and partially vertical trellis
- Vine Planting Density: 2,800 plants/ha for Lyre; 5,200 plants/ha for vertical trellis
Harvest Notes
- Hand harvested with strict berry selection
- Soft pressing
- 60% must refrigerated and fermented in temperature controlled stainless steel tanks
- 40% must fermented in oak barriques, 50% new, 50% once-used
- Only indigenous yeast
- 25% of oak-fermented wine macerated on skins 12 hours
- All oak-fermented wine completed malolactic fermentation
- Aged 8 months on lees with battonage every 7 days
- Wine bottled March 2025
Winemaker's Notes
Crystalline yellow with brilliant golden nuances. Tropical pineapple and banana aromas combined with apricot and summer flowers. Fresh acidity and elegance lead to a lingering, memorable finish.
Wine Summary
100% Chardonnay; alcohol: 13%; steep vineyard of chalky, calcareous pebbly soil soil at 1,510-17200 ft; 60% of wine fermented in stainless steel tanks; 40% in oak barriques, 50% new; only indigenous yeasts; 25% of barrel fermented juice macerated for 12 hours; malolactic fermentation for barrel-fermented wine; aged on lees for 8 months with battonage every week.
Technical Information
- 100% Chardonnay
- Alcohol: 13%
- Total Acidity: 5.15 g/l
- Residual Sugar: < 1 g/l
- Extract: 22 m/l
Reviews
91 Points
The 2024 Al Poggio is soft and caressing, making it a fine choice for drinking now and over the next few years. Pear, jasmine, citrus peel and white pepper open gracefully. Although not especially complex, the Al Poggio is a fine white. I tasted it after all of Ama’s reds and it showed beautifully. 2025 – 2029
Vinous - Antonio Galloni, July, 2025
92+ Points
The 2024 Chardonnay “Al Poggio” from Castello di Ama is made in a combination of stainless steel tanks and oak casks, with forty percent of the cuvée barrel-fermented and aged in oak, while the other sixty percent is fermented and raised in tank. Of the oak portion of the cuvée, half the barrels are new and the other half are “one wine” casks. The wine comes in at an even thirteen percent octane in this vintage and delivers a refined bouquet of pear, apple, chalky soil tones, just a hint of savory green olive, fruit blossoms and a gentle framing of vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is bright, full-bodied, focused and elegant in profile, with fine depth of fruit at the core, lovely soil signature and grip, a fine spine of acidity and a long, nascently complex and impeccably balanced finish. This is still a young wine and a bit tightly-knit, but already quite tasty. It will blossom beautifully with a bit of bottle age. 2025 – 2035+
View From The Cellar, September, 2025
General Info
| Country | Italy |
| Region | Tuscany |
| Appellation(s) | Chianti Classico |
| Proprietor/CEO | Lorenza Sebasti |
| Founded | 1974 |
| Winemaker | Marco Pallanti |
| Annual Production | 25,000 9L cases |
| Farming (Sustainable, organic, biodynamic) | Sustainable certified by Equalitas Italy |