I Sodi di San Niccolò 2017

The "sodi" in the local language were the soils too hard to be worked by hand and also not very fertile for most crops. In these soils the vine can not only acclimatize, but produces grapes rich in precious and concentrated substances, to the point of generating wines with a strong personality. The red wine I Sodi di San Niccolò by Castellare di Castellina comes from vineyards that are made up of particularly hard soils, hence "sodi", and lie near the Church of San Niccolò. This explains the name of this wine, which was created for the first time in 1979 outside any appelation, blendint Sangiovese with only a small part of Malvasia nera, grown on vineyards with limestone soil at an altitude of 350-400 meters. It was one of the so-called Super Tuscans, produced with the intention of enhancing the Chianti tradition of Sangiovese with a new approach: excluding white grapes from the blend and aging the wine in barrique instead of in large barrels.

After the harvest, which usually takes place in early October, alcoholic fermentation takes place in steel vats at a controlled temperature. Maceration on the skins continues for another 18-20 days with continuous punching down. Malolactic fermentation is also carried out in steel, then the wine ages 18 months in mostly new French barriques. At the end, the wine from all different barriques is blended together in steel vats, where the wine rests for a few more months.