My new discovery: Trio of Candles "Castello di Ama"

"Nothing is worth having if you’ve no friend to share it with" - Seneca


I report this sentence not only because I do agree with Seneca, but also because the project I’m telling you of today, was born out of this same idea: to share. In this case, share the smells of a place.
Ama is a charming village in the heart of Chianti (Tuscany), a place with strong historical roots, surrounded by a beautiful countryside covered with vineyards and olive groves as far as the eye can see. "Castello di Ama” (website here) is the name of the farm owned by Lorenza and Marco Pallanti, two outstanding winemakers (in 2003 Marco was awarded the title "Winemaker of the Year" by the Guide "Wines of Italy" by Gambero Rosso and Slow Food) passionately in love with their homeland, who decided to share its magic using the sense with which they used to express themselves better: smell. There are people who put to the essence of a territory into a video-documentary, a photo book, or composing soundtracks. Marco and Lorenza created three scented candles.

To implement the project they involved their friend Michele Marin, who trained at the School of “Cinquième Sens” in Paris, whom you’ve probably met at Olfattorio in Florence, where he’s running a fantastic job of spreading scented culture with rare skills and an unparalleled passion.
The three accords made by Michele evoke three moments of outdoors life in Chianti: a spring stroll through the vineyards, the scent of the Mediterranean spot in the summer evenings, and the warm smell of a fireplace. These days I'm trying all three candles with a satisfaction I didn’t expect, so I’m happy to write about them. I generally prefer other tools to scent my home, because candles I'd tried so far didn’t smelled strong enough for my tastes, or were too smoky, or the wax was sticky and got dusty, or the wick burned too fast, plunged into the wax and after a while you could no longer use it... Okay, I admit I haven’t chosen Trudon or Diptyque for my experiments, but after several disappointing attempts, I was convinced that candles did nothing for me. Instead, these three are converting me!

First, the wax is fantastic: it melts evenly, when cold it’s compact and smooth, nice to see even after you’ve used it many times. The candles last twenty hours at least, wicks burn correctly and is easy to relight.
And above all, they smell quite a lot, and they’re divine. Scented accords are clearly detectable, strong, faithful to what is perceived when the candle is off, only rounder and "sounder", with a high amount of naturals of good quality.
In the pic, a step of the creation process: cutting the wick.


"Nel camino verdeggia /At the fireplace" is my favorite: woods of cedar, sandal and patchouli, cistus labdanum, frankincense and clove. The dry, majestic woods feel almost crackling in the flames, while fire melts resins as incense and cistus labdanum, which contributes to the whole with its typical sweet, animalic, sticky- resinous note, which I adore. Absolute of cistus labdanum is one of the wonders of perfumery, and here you detect it clearly. Not having the chance of staying near a fireplace, this candle is the closest thing I’ve found to that serene and meditative feeling.


"Nunzio Primaverile /Spring messenger" is the other one I love: bright green and shiny with verbena, mint, lavender and coriander seeds. A bouquet combining aromatic and spicy notes to push freshness and liveliness to the maximum. The author's intention was to create a Spring-inspiring scent, but I think this is a kind of passepartout, to light up whenever you need a dose of good humor and energy. So, throughout winter, as far as I’m concerned.


"Camminar per bianche strade / Strolling along white roads", with geranium, fennel, caraway and birch, conveys a serene, bright "summer" feeling; those who appreciate the anise notes of caraway and fennel could fall in love with this candle.


The candles are available on Castello di Ama website, and on Facebook page Candele Castello di Ama. I think they could be a nice Christmas present for a couple of friends (but they’ll have to deserve them ;-))