Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Badia a Passignano 2017

It is a classy red wine whose name is linked to the tradition of the monks who kept viticulture alive in the Middle Ages. The Badia a Passignano is a medieval monastery belonging to the order of Vallombrosan monks, which has always been dedicated to agriculture and the production of wine. Even today the monks live in the monastery but the estate was acquired by the Marquises Antinori, who manage the 65 hectares of vineyards in a splendid position, in the municipality of Barberino-Tavarnelle in the province of Florence, within the perimeter of the DOCG Chianti Classico, not far from the Tignanello estate. Here the Sangiovese grows at an altitude of 300 m on clay and limestone soil, particularly suited for the production of quality wines. The Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Badia a Passignano wine is made with the best grapes of the estate, coming from a beautiful steep vineyard, facing south, right in front of the Monastery. It is a wine of the Gran Selezione type, the most precious of the Chianti Classico, which requires at least 30 months of aging. In this case the wine is a real "cru" that is obtained from a single vineyard.

The grapes are harvested by hand, de-stemmed and crushed. Alcoholic fermentation takes place in stainless steel vats at a controlled temperature and maceration with the skins lasts for about 22 days from the start of fermentation. After racking, the wine is decanted into wooden barrels where the malolactic fermentation takes place and ages for a year in Hungarian and French oak barrels in the underground cellars of the Badia a Passignano.