We select the grapes for our "Riserva" with great care. It is 100% Sangiovese. The particular rocky composition of the terrain, and gradient of the slopes along with the low number of buds per vine means that the clusters the vines produce are significantly smaller than average. The berries are small, dark and characterized by a thick, crunchy skin which gives them an extraordinary concentration and aromatic complexity.
In the cellar:
The grapes are destemmed and pressed. They then ferment in steel vats at a controlled temperature for 15-20 days. Delestaging and pumping-over procedures are carried out frequently, to ensure a balanced fermentation. And a perfect extraction of the marc.
After racking, 70% of the new wine is transferred to steel vats where malolactic fermentation is completed, before it is aged in French oak barrels for 18 months. The remaining 30% when vinification is complete, is transferred to barriques for malolactic fermentation, too. The ageing process is completed in bottles for at least another 10 months before they are put on sale.
The wine:
Deep ruby in colour with glints of violet, tending towards garnet with ageing. This Sangiovese has an intense ripe, fruity aroma and a long balsamic persistence with ripe tannins of rare elegance, balanced acidity and a clear, tangy finish with a remarkable mineral content. A wine of great longevity which, on account of its unique characteristics, is a perfect interpreter of our terroir.
Technical data:
Grapes: 100% Sangiovese elevation of vineyards: from 200 to 300m above sea level.
Terrain: calcareous clay (rich in porous limestone rocks).
Trimming method: cordon spur.
Vine density: over 6000 per hectare.
Production per hectare: 50qt.
Wine yield: 60%.
Harvest: Sangiovese from mid September to mid October.
Fermentation: in stainless steel vats for 15-20 days.
Malolactic fermentation: fully carried out 70% in steel, 30% in barriques.
Ageing: 18 months in French oak barrels (Allier), and a further 10-12 months in bottles.