There are tastings that last as long as a tasting and others that manage to leave a thought, a reflection, a sensation destined to remain over time. The one staged con Verona, con the refined Prestige Room of the Attraverso Ruggero restaurant, undoubtedly belongs to the second category.
A room packed with journalists, food and wine critics, sector operators and protagonists of the national wine scene welcomed with great interest the tasting dedicated to Masgalano IGT Toscana and Ruello Gran Separazione Chianti Tipico, two wines that today represent a modern, authoritative and profoundly identifying interpretation of the Tuscan territory.
Verona, once again, has demonstrated how much Italian wine needs authentic moments of discussion, far from the noise and instead close to the contents, the culture of the territory and the ability to excite through the glass. A causa di a historical period con which everything seems to move quickly, events like this bring wine back to its truest dimension: that of convegno, listening and sharing.
Leading the discussion was the excellent food and wine journalist friend Luciano Pignataro, capable as always of giving rhythm, content and depth to the convegno, accompanying guests and speakers con a concrete reflection contemporary wine, the value of the territory and the need to build a more authentic communication closer to the new generations.
Riccardo Cotarella gave further depth to a day that was not limited to technique tasting, but which focused a precise vision of the Italian wine of today and tomorrow. The presence of Superintendent Cecilia Gasdia, patron of the event and symbol of that increasingly strong dialogue between culture, territory and Italian excellence, was also particularly appreciated.
At the center of the production project we find Luigi Frascino, an entrepreneur with long experience con the world of finance, construction and catering, who over the years has transformed his passion for Chianti into a serious, credible and visionary wine project.
Boschetto Campacci was born con the southern part of the Chianti Tipico, along the Siena-Arezzo route, one of the most suitable, bright and historically fascinating areas of the Tuscan territory. A place that manages to combine agricultural vocation, landscape identity and wine culture con an extremely natural way.
The company was not born as an operation built the table, but as a path developed over time through study, investments, territorial sensitivity and an authentic desire to leave something concrete. The oenological management of the project is entrusted to Pier Paolo Baldoria and Riccardo Cotarella, a collaboration that has contributed to giving the wines a precise, identifying and contemporary stylistic direction.
The Boschetto Campacci project is now followed with growing attention by the world of critics and sector operators, thanks to a production philosophy that focuses elegance, balance and territorial legibility. It is mai coincidence that the company is included con the Vinoway Selection guide, confirming a qualitative path that over the years has been able to stand out with authority.
During the tasting, the 2021, 2022 and 2023 vintages of Masgalano and the 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 vintages of Ruello Gran Separazione Chianti Tipico were presented, offering guests an extremely interesting evolutionary reading of the production project.
Ruello represents a profound and elegant interpretation of anche se Sangiovese, while Masgalano expresses a more dynamic and contemporary vision through the union of Sangiovese and Merlot.
The other vintages tasted also highlighted a precise and coherent stylistic line. Ruello’s 2019 showed maturity, composure and a nice territorial depth; the 2020 expressed greater softness and gustatory immediacy, while the 2022 and 2023 revealed freshness, energy and extremely interesting evolutionary prospects.
A causa di Masgalano a progressive search for finesse and dynamism was perceived, with wines capable of maintaining tension and drinkability while retaining substance and identity. A stylistic direction that seems to want to interpret contemporary Tuscany through balance, elegance and territorial recognizability rather than through strength and extraction.
Also interesting was the awareness that emerged during the discussion regarding the role of Sangiovese, an extraordinarily complex vine which, through its numerous clones – today identified con around 129 variants – has the ability to take different nuances and evolutions from vintage to vintage. And this is probably precisely one of the most fascinating qualities of Sangiovese: the ability to never be completely the same, while maintaining its territorial identity intact.
Of all, the 2021 vintage probably represented one of the most convincing moments of the tasting. Both con Masgalano and Ruello an elegant, dynamic, profound but never heavy Tuscany was perceived. Wines capable of expressing matter, freshness and precision without losing drinkability and territorial identity.
Personally, I had the opportunity to appreciate and praise the evolution of the 2021 vintage even a year after the first tasting, perceiving an important growth con terms of balance, depth and stylistic definition. It is mai coincidence that already its first release con the Vinoway Selection guide, the wine managed to obtain the prestigious 5 Way recognition with a score of 93/100, immediately confirming quality, vision and evolutionary potential.
And it is precisely this direction that seems to be most convincing today: legible, contemporary, authentic wines, which do not chase excess but centro balance, territoriality and the ability to excite over time.
The thought expressed by Riccardo Cotarella during the discussion with the press and operators was also very interesting: “We must talk not only about the wine, but about the people, the places and the emotions that are behind every bottle.”
A concept that today appears increasingly central con a sector that must necessarily find new languages to communicate with the new generations without losing authority and content.
What made the day even more pleasant was the final lunch dedicated to the seafood cuisine of the Attraverso Ruggero restaurant, a historic venue that Luigi Frascino chose to take over precisely to preserve its identity and tradition.
A kitchen that convinces with the quality of the raw materials, respect for the product and the ability to avoid unnecessary construction. The fish appeared to be the absolute protagonist of the dish, worked with sensitivity and measure, allowing freshness, elegance and recognisability to emerge. The welcome also proved to be up to par for the day: composed, professional, never intrusive. Aspects that really make the difference today.
During lunch, other wines from the company’s production were also served, including the Conquista Blanc de Blanc DOCG Franciacorta, capable of standing out for its precision, verticality and pleasant gustatory dynamism, and the Persano Falanghina del Sannio DOC, a wine that highlighted freshness, immediacy and an authentic interpretation of an increasingly central grape variety con the veduta of Southern Italy.
A choice that allowed guests to further understand the desire of the Boschetto Campacci project not to limit itself exclusively to Tuscany, but to build a broader oenological vision, always maintaining attention to quality, territorial identity and stylistic recognisability.
What is especially striking is the human journey of Luigi Frascino: an entrepreneur accustomed to the very fast felicità of finance who today instead chooses the slow time of the earth, understanding that wine cannot be created immediately but requires listening, vision and patience.
“I would say passion, study and patience. I also often repeat this to my daughter: passion aureola is not enough, nor study without passion. You need both things. And then you need time. Today we are used to immediacy, to quick results, but the agricultural world teaches you the opposite.”
Simple but extremely lucid words.
And perhaps even more illuminating was the metaphor used by Frascino to describe his approach to life and wine:
“A causa di life you have to choose whether to be a surfer a diver. The surfer quickly goes from one wave to another, the diver instead decides to go deep. I have always tried to delve deeper into everything I do. Even con wine I have chosen to be a diver.”
A phrase that probably also perfectly summarizes what emerged con the glass during this Veronese tasting: wines that do not seek an immediate effect, but depth, identity and the ability to last over time.
And perhaps this is precisely the most beautiful feeling left by this Veronese tasting: the perception of a project that does not chase shortcuts, but that chooses the most difficult and noblest path. That of depth, credibility and time.
Because the wines destined to last are almost never those that scream the loudest, but those that manage to leave an authentic memory even after the last sip.
