About this wine
Vineyard and terroir
The grapes come from Tenuta di Nozzole in the municipality of Greve in Chianti, at elevations beginning around 300 metres above sea level. Planting density is 2,800 vines per hectare. Average production is about 7 tonnes of grapes per hectare, while drying reduces the final wine yield to approximately 30%.
Grapes
Predominantly Trebbiano and Malvasia.
Vinification
This is effectively a double harvest. Healthy grapes are picked during the first ten days of September and hung in the historic vinsantaia of Villa di Nozzole, where drying concentrates their sugars and reduces the wine yield. When the desired degree of dehydration is reached in December or January, the grapes are taken down, softly pressed and subjected to a very slow winter fermentation in small oak carati.
Ageing
The wine spends seven years in barriques, with periodic rackings used to obtain natural clarity. It then receives at least three months in bottle and is bottled without fining or filtration.
Tasting profile
The 2018 vintage offers raisins and saffron, joined by dried apricot, honey, dried fruit, chamomile, vanilla and spices developed through oxidative tertiary ageing. The palate is sweet yet balanced, full, complex and persistent, with acidity and sweetness held in refined equilibrium. The selected technical sheet additionally describes a bright, lustrous golden-yellow colour.
Serving and pairing
Serve with biscuits, particularly Tuscan cantucci, or with strongly flavoured and mature cheeses. Another suggested pairing is crema catalana with a reduction of alkekengi and vanilla.
Vintage notes
For the harvest described in the technical information, August was dry, with only 9 mm of rain, after favourable spring and summer ripening conditions. The grapes entered the drying room in excellent health during the first ten days of September.
Label / history
First produced in 1996, the wine is defined by its two-stage harvest and prolonged drying and maturation cycle.
