Antinori Chianti Classico Riserva

Winery Notes
Villa Antinori Chianti Classico Riserva is a blend of Sangiovese together with other complementary varieties produced as a tribute to Antinori's historic label that has accompanied the family's winemaking traditions over the years. The inauguration of the new winery Antinori nel Chianti Classico inspired the family to reinterpret this Tuscan classic into a premium quality wine with unmistakable style, the resulting Riserva is delicate, decisive and elegant.

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Tasting Notes
Villa Antinori Chianti Classico Riserva 2016 presents an intense ruby red as a color. The nose shows notes of ripe red fruit, wild cherries and sensations of dried wild flowers along with spicy aromas of cinnamon and a pleasurable balsamic finish. The palate is balanced, savory, and vibrant with a long and persistent aftertaste which brings back the wine’s ample spicy aromas and flavors.

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Vintage Notes
After a generally dry autumn and winter with little rainfall, the spring of 2016 in Chianti Classico followed with fine weather conditions, favoring a bud break which was approximately ten days earlier than normal seasonal averages. Precipitation and cooler than usual temperatures marled the month of May and the first half of June, days which, nonetheless, did not influence critical phases of flowering and bud set. A warm and dry summer enabled the achievement of a high-level balance of grapes and vegetation and guaranteed a perfect ripening of the crop. The harvest period was a regular one with occasional moments of rain and long periods of sun and breezes, assisting an ideal period of ripening of all of the varieties which were planted. The picking was carried out during the second half of the month of September and terminated during the month of October.

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Vineyard Notes

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Winemaking Notes
The grapes, after destemming and after being given a delicate pressing, went into stainless steel fermenting tanks where it went through a long fermentation process at a controlled temperature maintained at a level no higher than 86 °Fahrenheit (30 °Centigrade). The maceration on the grape skins lasted approximately fifteen days during which time soft and controlled extraction techniques were utilized to attain aroma, structure, and sweet tannins. At the end of the malolactic fermentation, carried out in stainless steel tanks in the case of the Sangiovese and barriques of second and third passage with the other grape varieties, the various lots of wine were blended and continued to age in oak, principally in casks and, in lesser measure in oak barrels, up until the spring of 2019, the Villa Antinori was bottled in July of 2019.