Chianti Classico Riserva 2018

Castello di Meleto 2018 Riserva is an evolved traditional Chianti Classico, coming from the cool area of Gaiole in Chianti and from a relatively cool vintage. The wine has a mouth-filling and intense taste with soft tannins and is designed for food, thanks to the mouthwatering acidity of Sangiovese. That 5% of Merlot occurring in the blend does not hide the typicality of Sangiovese, but contributes to a higher presence of fruit at mid palate. All grapes come from various plots of land at different altitudes between 370 and 500 meters; the soils are characteristic of the heart of Chianti: clay, alberese rock (limestone) and galestro (marl). Castello di Meleto is pursuing the conversion to organic and works in a traditional style with the aim of producing wines linked to the territory of origin, executed in a precise and convincing manner. The territory of Gaiole in Chianti produces elegant wines, with floral and fruity aromas and gentle tannins, thanks to the rich component of sandstone in the soil due to the proximity of the Chianti Mountains and benefits from a continental climate with accentuated temperature variations between night and day in summer.

The grapes are harvested by hand taking only healthy and ripe bunches. They are de-stemmed and fermented with wild yeasts in stainless steel vats at a controlled temperature below 25 ° C. Fermentation is finished in about 15 days and the skins are left to macerate for another 15 days with repeated punching down. After racking, the wine ages in large barrels, some of French oak others of Slavonian oak, for a total of about 24 months.