Last month at the Anteprime Toscane event in Florence, I was introduced to a winery I had never heard of called Usiglian del Vescovo. It is located in the province of Pisa and has the right to use the Terre di Pisa DOC appellation, if it chooses to for certain of its wines. While it is not so strange that I have never heard of a winery, what is strange is that this property has been making wine since 1083 AD which is why I was surprised to have learned of its existence only now. The property was in the hands od the Church for many years. Vescovo means Bishop. Apparently it was contested between the two cities of Pisa and Lucca, arch-rivals. Today the winery has 160 hectares of land with many structures on it.

In terms of the area planted to vines, it is about 25 hectares while another 15 hectares are dedicated to olive trees with the typical Tuscan cultivars. The grape varieties that grow on the vineyards here are not the indigenous ones might expect but are a host of international grape varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot, and Chardonnay.

The wine I tried was called Il Barbiglione and I was told by the lovely woman working the desk that it is their flagship. She had two vintages with her, the 2018 and the 2019 specifically. I prefered the 2019 which felt like it came from a cooler vintage. It appealed to me with its big, bold, fruit forward notes. It was quite different than the Sangiovese I had tasted through the Anteprime Week. Less acid, more fruit, fewer tertiary notes but lots of spice and oak. It actually was relaxing because it was not as taut and racy as so much Sangiovese. Don’t get me wrong, Sangiovese is my favorite grape and my favorite wines mostly are made from this grape but I did enjoy the change.

While this is an old winery, the appellation is pretty new. Its been a denominazione d’orgine controllata (DOC) since 2011. A Consorzion was created in 2018. Many people think of the province of Pisa only because of the Leaning Tower and the University. Instead its a treasure trove of beautiful small towns, hills, and gorgeous views, great for biking, it is also in close proximity to the gorgeous Tyrrhenian Sea. This part of the Mediterranean lies off the West Coast of Italy and is named after the Tyrrhenians who came from Tuscia or Etruria. This is another name for the Etruscans, that ancient Matriarchal culture that ruled Central Italy and were the first to plant vines.

In the Terre di Pisa appellation, the vineyards are between 250 to 400 meters above sea level. Usiglian del Vescovos’ are at 250 meters above sea level. The climate is somewhat mild and the vines are not under too much hydric stress. This permits a long and slow growing season leading to phenolic ripeness and also allows for the use of few treatments against pests, therefore enabling organic viticulture in a more seamless manner.

In fact, Usiglian del Vescovo is very clear in its intentions to act as stewards of the land by engaging in organic viticulture, treating employees with respect and ethics, and providing a living wage. They are quite focused on soil health and also on biodiversity strength. The soils here are quite ancient dating back to the Pliocene era, 5.3 million to 2.6 million years ago. Apparently this was a cooling period and parts of the Mediterranean dried up. The soils in the Terre di Pisa area are a mix of clay and sand with a lot of marine fossils because the area was once part of the sea. The salinity from these types of soils can generally be found in the wines.

I enjoyed this wine a lot to my surprise and was glad that I listened to the producer working at the table. It was a great event and its always nice to find gems.