The company

The Pagani de Marchi winery was founded in 1996, when owner Pia Pagani de Marchi originally from Lugano in Switzerland, together with her husband decided to plant some vineyards in Casale Marittimo in the province of Pisa on the farm, which she had purchased in the early 1980s as a vacation home. Originally cereals were grown on the surrounding land, but a passion for French wine, and an encounter with Michele Satta, an established producer from Bolgheri, prompted Pia and her husband to embark on a new challenge: that of producing high-quality wine on their own land. Although already at the time of the Etruscans, as it is easy to presume from the artifacts found on the farm, these areas were destined for the cultivation of vines, in Casale Marittimo in those years there was no winery; no one had dared to plant vineyards. Therefore, the decision was to start with an experimental phase, limiting production to two types: a pure Sangiovese and a Bordeaux blend. In 1997 The first harvest took place in 2001, with results exceeding all expectations; this prompted the owners to produce all wines in purity, which in those years was a rather unusual, almost original idea. The product range expanded with the experiment of new blended wines in 2003 and 2004 and the introduction of a Vermentino-based white wine. The vineyard area extends in the surrounding hills for about 5 hectares with southeast, south, and southwest exposure and varying slopes, at an altitude of about 200 m above sea level. The soil consists mainly of sedimentary clays from the Pliocene; it is calcareous, poor in nitrogen and organic matter, but rich in potassium, magnesium and assimilable calcium. The first vines planted in 1998 were Merlot, located on the Nocera vineyard, of about 1.5 hectares; Cabernet Sauvignon from the Casalvecchio vineyard of 1.3 hectares; and Sangiovese, located in the vineyard renamed Principe Guerriero on an area of about 2.2 hectares. These were followed in 2008 by new plantings of 1 hectare Sangiovese, 1⁄2 hectare Vermentino with a density of about 6000 pt/ha. The vines are Guyot trained and the yield per hectare ranges between 50/60 quintals of grapes. In keeping with the philosophy of the winery, which has made organic management its cornerstone since 2009, caring for the vines at every stage, from budding to harvest, with the implementation of cultivation practices such as green pruning or thinning of shoots and bunches, is at the heart of the man's work. Fertilization is therefore reduced and limited to the addition of organic matter, without the use of chemical herbicides or synthetic molecules in pesticide treatments. Harvesting generally begins in the first decade of September for Merlot, in the second decade for Vermentino, in the third for Sangiovese, and in early October for Cabernet Sauvignon. After careful selection of the clusters at harvest, the grapes are brought to the winery for vinification. Grape maceration takes place in 50 hl steel tanks with temperature control. Traditional pumping over is done manually, fermentation is spontaneous without selected yeasts. The wine is racked into 225-l French oak barrels of 1st and 2nd passage where malolactic fermentation takes place. The Sangiovese stays 12 months in tonneaux, the Cabernet 12/16 months in French oak barrels while the Merlot 18 months. After that period, the wines are bottled and aged for an additional 12 to 18 months or so before being put on the market. The consultancy of winemaker Attilio Pagli, who has been present since the winery's inception, has set the tone for the quality and personality of the wines produced. In addition to wine, the company produces fabulous cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil, made from organic olives picked by hand in the first days of October. The varieties present are: leccino, frantoio and lazzera.