Castello di Vicarello needs no introduction. After 10 minutes here (it takes less than that for the estate’s Maremma dog to greet us with a cuddle and for the Baccheschi Berti brothers to appear with wine, charcoal bread and their inimitable olive oil), you’ll feel like a guest at the most beautiful family home you’ve ever set foot in. But walk a few minutes through the cypress trees lining the property’s abundant garden, and you’re no longer a guest, but the new resident of Villa La Vedetta – which I hereby deem the most covetable key in Tuscany.
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La Vedetta, the property’s transformed 12th-century watchtower, is at once a conservatory and micro-castle, and makes me audibly gasp. An extension of the castello, this enchanting retreat-within-a-retreat is the family’s new labour of love, brought to life over the last year and a half. “We still have some lighting to add as a final touch,” says Corso Baccheschi Berti, pointing to ancient stone steps leading up to the villa (which are bathed in moonlight, anyway).
With 360-degree views of the castle, vineyards and cascading valleys – best soaked up from the top of the watchtower, where post-dinner stargazing in pyjamas is incumbent – the villa can best be described as a glassed-in old world.
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Original terracotta flooring, Marmorino walls and window frames hand-carved by local artisans are a backdrop for the family’s prolific antique collection, which, as Brando Baccheschi Berti tells me, they are constantly moving between suites, reading rooms and dining nooks throughout the property. From an intricately carved wooden poolside bench to an imposing china-stacked armoire and a freestanding copper tub, I continuously revisit my “if I were to sneak one thing into my suitcase home, it would be this.”
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The villa’s two suites are on different floors, and thanks to the winding staircase that corkscrews through the old tower, you can go up and down without bothering each other, making the set-up perfect for a dual couples’ holiday, a family, or pairs of friends. The bathrooms are all checkered marble flooring with rain showers overlooking sun-baked vines, and every room – even with the windows shut to keep in the cool air – is indelibly filled with the song of cicadas. A fully-equipped kitchen, stacked with the estate’s holy olive oil and crystallised honey, opens onto secluded gardens and a private pool bordered by a lone olive tree that, in the light of dawn, adds a sense of something spiritual.
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Waking up to breakfast is like stepping out of bed and onto a film set. By the time you’ve had your first espresso and a wake-up dip, the centre-of-the-room table is laden with freshly-squeezed orange juice in crystal glasses, Uova al Purgatorio, sheep’s yoghurt with berries, apricot cake, and platters of pecorino, bresaola and figs from the tree next door. While chef in villa service is available, we develop a ritual of getting ready for supper (with one of Vicarello’s exquisite wines and, cheesily but appropriately, the Big Night soundtrack) at the main castle, where the beloved dog, Uva, leads us to a candlelit terrace overlooking plunging hills, framed by larger-than-life cypresses.
We savour local wild boar tartare, pigeon, anchovy sorbet (don’t knock it till you try it) and poached pears from a seasonally-changing menu by Massimiliano Volonterio (who patiently teaches us to make tagliatelle and tiramisu earlier in the day). But a simple basil-topped tomato pici bursting with flavour is the star, testament not only to the freshness of Vicarello’s organic produce, but to the most important ingredient – time – being put to its ultimate use.
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Then, there is the wine – plus the magic of sipping it on its home soil. While I am a French wine devotee, an organic vintage Terre di Vico convinces me otherwise; then, the Castello di Vicarello 2019 – a 90% perfect blend of cabernet franc and cabernet sauvignon, with 10% petit verdot – has me falling head over heels in love. What The Parent Trap’s ‘Where Dreams Have No End’ is to Natasha Richardson and Dennis Quaid, I decide, this wine will be to me.
Will I come back? Hopefully, time and again. A traveller uses their time wisely by maintaining a clear sense of which places to love once, and which places to come back to. I’ll be lucky to return, when the cicadas call.