Enate winery can easily win a “Best view from the reception” competition. It is not just a landscape, it is a stunning, unfolding at almost 180 degrees panorama which can be seen from a long horizontal window. The eye at once catches an impressionist island in the centre – a manmade forest of bended beams growing from the whitish soil. The attention then moves to small, facing in all directions vineyard plots, bare rectangles of red earth, chaotically spread bushes and trees, low wooded hills in the background, amazingly blue sky with a fleet of white clouds sailing on the day of the visit…

The company does not own the lands which constitute the landscape (except, of course, for the forest installation – Enate commissioned it to replace a burnt house, according to PR manager). But from the onset the Enate team believed that the beautiful place next to Salas Bajas village would be the best medium to transmit the essence of a new winemaking project.

Milanese businessman Guido Serio bought San Fabiano estate in 1983. The vineyards are located in the historic Chianti Classico commune of Castellina, while the manor house and the cellar, which are part of the 10-century-old medieval hamlet, stand right on the south-western border of Chianti Classico denomination. The estate is essentially an agricultural enterprise, with grain fields, vineyards, olive groves and woods dispersed on 165 hectares. The vineyards currently occupy 42 hectares, 28 of which are planted around San Fabiano hamlet and the rest are in the locality of Cellole near Castellina.

Since the purchase of the estate Guido Serio made a considerable investment both in vine growing and wine making. The property had an old vinification cellar – it was promptly expanded and new modern equipment installed in mid 1980s. A vast new aging cellar was built in 2003. In between these years all vineyards were gradually renewed. Small replanting is still carried out each year, so the majority of today’s vines are aged 5 to 15 years. Franco Campanelli is a full time in-house winemaker, while Carlo Ferrini, a famed Tuscan enologist, followed the estate since 1984 and continues to work as a consultant.

I recently spent a weekend in Barolo, which is simply one of the most fascinating Italian wine areas. High hills, patchworks of vineyards, breathtaking views – and then, of course, famed Barolo wines. As one may expect, I came there for the wine.

Gianluca and Claudio Viberti of Giovanni Viberti winery staged a nice little event, offering us to taste some aged Barolos from the 1990s and then continuing with a dinner where we had more wine with superb Piemontese food.

Email address: lesmerleaux@yahoo.com

Moto: Enjoy simple pleasures in life

Location: Como, Italy

Work place: Freelance – you can find me around Italy, but also in Spain, France and other European winemaking regions

For the very special evening with your loved one which wine you would open: Champagne

Best wine bargain: Well aged Jerez

Your favorite varietal: Sangiovese

Best aphrodisiac: Any wine with bubbles

Last bite on earth: Tiramisu

Adventurous food and wine pair: Beef roulettes with erdapfel potato, bone marrow and puree paired with Egon Muller Wiltinger Braune Kupp Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel 1976.

Short bio: Eleonora is known as one of Russia’s leading wine journalists and tasters, as well as a consultant on the Russian market. She is a member of WineCreator, prestigious expert panel of 20 key international wine critics and writers (www.winecreator.net) and in addition regularly gets to taste wines with the Grand Jury Européen, a group of prominent European and American tasters (www.grandjuryeuropeen.com).