A PORTRAIT OF THE WINERY

In the beginning there was Pasquale Chiorri. It was he who, in the late 1800s, began to envision a winery here in Sant’Enea, a delightful little town a few kilometers from Perugia along the road that leads to Marsciano and, from there, onwards to Todi. It is an ancient road once travelled by pilgrims and monks, and by the ceramists of Deruta. The more recent developments, however, are all merit of the love and ability of Tito Mariotti, and his wife, Franca Chiorri, who started producing DOC wines here in 1978. The winery is still family-owned and run. Daughter Monica, a wine pro, and her husband Francesco, also do their fair share of the work. The cantina has recently been renovated and it’s a true delight, both for the body and the spirit, to stop here and look out towards the horizon from the splendid terrace, over the vineyards below and, in the distance, to rest your eyes on the beauty of Deruta and Assisi. Chiorri wines play an important role on the Umbria wine scene, maintaining their artisan soul and the flavour of good things from times past.

THE VINEYARD AND TERROIR

The estate has some 25 hectares of vineyards, all growing around the estate’s main buildings. They are located on hilly ground that has a soil of medium consistency and boasts an east-west exposure, that is, the sun shines on it from dawn to sunset. The Saliato cru is the parcel of land that also hosts the winery and lent its name to one of its historical wines.

THE GRAPE VARIETIES GROWN

Apart from trebbiano (procanico) and grechetto for the whites, they also grow sangiovese, merlot, cabernet sauvignon and sagrantino.

WINES

Grechetto aside, a sort of visceral passion of the winery, the wines made here clearly reflect the spirit of the terroir on which its grapes grew. From colli PeruGini Bianco (trebbiano and grechetto), to the red versions of this doc (sangiovese, merlot and cabernet) including a rosé, their wines stand out. The saliato, from the eponymous cru, is their most important red. It is vinified in steel vats and then left to age in barriques made of oak from the forests of Allier in France. It is worth noting that the winery also offers some of the best sold-by-the-measure, or sfuso, wine of the entire regione.