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5218 Lawton Avenue
Oakland, CA 94114

510-654-9159

Oliver McCrum Wines has been importing small production Italian wine and distributing to fine retail and restaurant establishes throughout California since 1994. Over time, our portfolio of producers has steadily grown to over 45 producers from 15 different regions of Italy. We look for typical Italian wines with clarity and freshness, usually made from indigenous Italian grape varieties using clean, transparent winemaking techniques and no obvious use of oak. 

Blog

Time Marches on at Castell'in Villa

Michele Boscia

“Time marches to its own beat at Castell’in Villa, where proprietor Princess Coralia Pignatelli della Leonessa releases her wines only when she thinks they are ready. “

-Antonio Galloni, Vinous

Renowned Italian critic Ian d’Agata has claimed “Chianti Classico does not get any better or any more traditional than” Castell’in Villa.” Vinous recently called the estate a “reference point among reference points” in the region, adding that “winemaker Federico Staderini continues to do a terrific job in exalting the classicism that makes Castell'in Villa such an iconic estate.”

What exactly makes Castell’in Villa iconic? According to Oliver, who admits he feels honored to represent the estate, it is proprietor Coralia Pignatelli della Leonessa’s adherence to tradition combined with her exceptional vineyards that has allowed her to make consistently excellent wine through decades of fads and market swings. 

One example of this is her decision to release the wines only when she and her team deem them ready, correctly reasoning that you can’t rush greatness. And when those wines are ready, they’re among the best wines in the world from anywhere.

The 2019 Chianti Riserva (a new release for Spring 2026) drew rave reviews from Vinous, with Antonio Galloni calling it a “bomb” of “dark cherry, plum, new leather, cedar, and grilled herbs.” He says of the 2020 Chianti Classico, also a new release, “[this is] one of the most alluring, flat-out delicious young wines I have tasted here in some time.”

In a world where patience is increasingly at a premium, one could argue that Castell’in Villa’s long-lived virtues are simply too esoteric for the modern age— dusty tannins, coupled with a complexity of flavor that meanders between sour cherry and savory herbs - that demand full attention of the consumer. But if you know you know: when the Castell’in Villa wines are ready to drink, the experience is transcendent.

Time may pass at a different pace at Castell’in Villa, but it’s most certainly marching forward. The estate continues to inspire us at every turn.

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