Tinia, 2013

Once an enthusiastic buyer, seller & taster of some of the world's most delicious wines, I was drawn to Tuscany on a quest to understand how such wines are made. The village and territory of Seggiano is nestled in a sheltered valley not far from the great Brunello producing commune of Montalcino and it is as enchanted a place for growing wine as it is unknown. A patchwork landscape of ancient olive, chestnut, oak and vine is protected from the weather's excesses by the thickly forested volcanic bulk of Monte Amiata and the mountain's refreshing evening breezes, and blessed by diverse, mineral-rich soils of limestone and lava. Here, since 2013, I have made wine for the small Dutch owned estate of Hortulanus. Using organic and biodynamic techniques and the principal of minimum intervention, I work as closely as possible with nature and naturally low yields, aiming to produce profound and delicious wines full of life-force, harmony and capacity to age, as well as expressing the uniqueness of their respective vineyard sites.