Award-Winning Rising Wine Star Making Spectacular Wines Using Ancient Ways

Elena wanted to really get to know wine by focusing on how amphorae could bring out the sense of place and the purity of the variety, as she had no interest in using the technique to make a highly extracted, funky wine. So she decided to spend many years learning by doing her own experiments with various grape varieties from her estate, across different plots, first deciding which varieties/plots had their pure essences enhanced and eventually narrowing down the grapes she would continue fermenting in amphorae. Also, she had no desire to add a flavor component or an odd aroma from the amphorae as she was using them as a tool for greater transparency. So, over the years, she noted that each terracotta vessel differed in how much it oxygenated the wine, as the pore sizes varied. Each is a handcrafted work of art, and part of the beauty of that is that each is unique.

Elena could never imagine how much time and energy she would devote to winemaking, as she had no interest in it as a child; it just seemed like she would be mindlessly following her parents. Yet this amphora project she was taking on was entirely hers; she would decide everything and find her own way to express these wines, and to her parents’ credit, they were completely supportive and thrilled that she found her own passion project.

It took many years before Elena felt her amphora wines were ready for the market, as she wanted them to reach a high enough standard to be presented to the world rather than relying on her family’s reputation. And just a few years ago, she started releasing them under her label, Le Anfore, and today she has 12 years of experience with these wines, although her father has told her she needs at least 20 before she becomes an expert. All four Famiglia Casadei estates have anywhere from 20 to 30 amphorae, and despite the first few coming from the country of Georgia, all the rest were bought from Impruneta, Tuscany, a place famous for high-quality terracotta amphorae.

Initially, Elena seemed to be on a path of just globe-hopping from place to place, avoiding responsibility, and she was well aware of that being her image of how she was viewed in her small town. But what can seem like an aimless journey with no goal to others is time well spent experiencing other ways of life and connecting with different people to gain a better handle on major life choices at such a young age.

Elena wasn’t a young woman avoiding work; she was searching for a stronger purpose in her life —a purpose that would feed her passion, a mission she would devote herself to day and night. And despite her needing eight more years to reach that 20 year expert milestone, to her surprise, she has already won awards for her wines, such as the Platinum medal at the 2025 Decanter World Wine Awards for her 2022 Cannonau di Sardegna as well as one of the top Cannonau wines from Sardinia with the “Tre Bicchieri” award from the prestigious Gambero Rosso. It just goes to show that sometimes a restlessness that is created by a frustration with a cushy job can be rooted in a need to be challenged, to give one a sense of a meaningful life, and someone like that, once she finds her outlet, will offer something inspiring to the world, such as the wines of Le Anfore.

When it came to tasting the wines of Le Anfore, Elena suggested tasting the reds first before the whites, as the whites have a small amount of skin contact. She does not like to call her white wines “orange” because, according to her, there is a stigma attached to such wines, which often have atypical notes and a tannic structure that emphasize the winemaking technique rather than the purity of the grape variety and sense of place. These were some of the purest amphora wines I have ever tasted, and I would never have known they were fermented in amphora if I hadn’t been told beforehand, as they come across as wines with incredible transparency that heighten the delicious experience of fruit intermixed with the elegant aromas of the soil.

Le Anfore wines

2022 Le Anfore, Cannonau, Cannonau di Sardegna DOC, Sardinia, Italy: 100% Cannonau biodynamically farmed. Sourced from their Olianas estate in the southern section of Sardinia, which is a lot less populated and escapes the tourist onslaught that inflicts the northern section, so it is more rugged and untouched and Olianas is near an ancient site called Su Nuraxi; Elena noted that her parents have been going to Sardinia for over 25 years, and they fell in love with it, and although the Sardinian people typically don’t like it when outsiders buy land, they made an exception in this case since Elena’s parents became part of the community. This award-winning Cannonau is outstanding for its purity and sumptuousness, and it is one of those wines that can be given to anyone and wow them on the first taste. Aromas of pristine red fruits that are multidimensional in their characteristics and hints of spices with bright acidity and just the right amount of plush fruit on the mid-palate with incredibly silky tannins completely integrated; a show stopper of a wine that will always wow a crowd. Only 6,000 bottles were made.

2021 Le Anfore, Sangiovese, Toscana IGT, Tuscany, Italy: 100% Sangiovese organically farmed. This is from their Castello del Trebbio estate in the heart of Chianti and is for those who like the more finesse-driven Sangiovese that shows off its raw beauty when untouched by oak—lifted aromas of rose oil and fresh truffles with rich black cherry flavors enhanced by an underlying note of forest floor framed by very fine tannins. Only 5,000 bottles made.

2023 Le Anfore, Trebbiano, Toscana IGT, Tuscany, Italy: 100% Trebbiano organically farmed, also from their Castello del Trebbio estate. Elena is conscientious not to leave her amphora white wines on the skins for too long as she always wants her wines to be delicious first and foremost and doesn’t want to extract uncommon aromas or textures. It has taken her many years of experimenting to figure out which varieties worked best and how to handle varying vintages – if a wine doesn’t reach a high standard, she will not bottle it. The only thing atypical about this white wine is its gold color, which is quite enticing in its gorgeous hue. The aromas and flavors certainly do justice to a premium Trebbiano grape grown with care, but the characteristics are more pronounced and deliver so much more pleasure. Orange peel and crushed limestone on the nose, with flavors of peach pie and marmalade, and baking spices that are decadent yet vibrant, with mouthwatering acidity. Only 4,000 bottles made.

2022 Le Anfore, Migiu, Semidano Isola dei Nuraghi IGT, Sardinia, Italy: 100% Semidano organically farmed from their Olianas estate. Semidano is an ancient indigenous white variety of Sardinia, and since Semidano is also the name of the area, Elena was not allowed to use it on the label as the grape, so she used the very old name of the grape, Migiu. A stunning copper color with an irresistible nose of candied violets, jasmine tea and sea shells with flavors of mandarin preserves that has a saline minerality intertwined with a mouth coating texture that is out of this world, especially balanced by the marked acidity, as Elena says there is an oily quality that comes from the skins of the Semidano grapes. Only 3,000 bottles made.

An interesting side note about the Le Anfore wines made at the Olianas estate in Sardinia is the way Elena tastes the final wines to make sure they are up to the high standard she sets for them. She will first taste the wines at the Sardinia estate, but then she will bring the samples back to Tuscany to retaste the wines, as she finds Sardinia such an enchanting dream with its natural beauty that she is not sure if she is loving the wines because of what is in the glass or because of where she is drinking them. Hence, she will return to Tuscany to make sure the magic is truly in the glass.

The wines below are her family’s wines from their various estates:

2024 Olianas, Vermentino, Vermentino di Sardegna DOC, Sardinia, Italy: 100% Vermentino biodynamically farmed. Prancing notes of lemon blossom and sea spray with lemon curd flavors and a full body with crisp acidity and a lingering finish.

2020 Castello del Trebbio, Chianti Rufina Riserva DOCG, Tuscany, Italy: 90% Sangiovese and the rest Merlot and Syrah, organically farmed. A lovely Sangiovese, done in a very elegant style, with an impressive, vivid quality to the red cherry fruit, a hint of spice, notes of wild thyme, and overall freshness, with silky tannins that give this wine an overall finesse.

2022 Casadei “Sogno Mediterraneo” Toscana IGT, Tuscany, Italy: 75% Syrah and the remainder made up of Grenache and Mourvèdre biodynamically farmed. This is from the area of Suvereto, which is becoming a rising star in its own right for Bordeaux blends with Sangiovese, but it also makes great Rhône blends. Aromas unfurl with a basket of brambly fruit and wildflowers with a hint of rosemary and a juicy palate framed by soft tannins with an expansive finish that goes on and on.