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Tasting the new vintages (2016 -2017)

8 March 2019

In order to check the evolution of the wine and to be sure that there are no problems during the maturation period, every now and then we taste samples from all of our barrels. A small wine sample is extracted from every barrel and then tasted by me and my Father, Fernando.

A few months have passed since we did a sample tasting last time, and the tasting carried out the other day made it possible for us to evaluate the situation of the vintages 2016 and 2017. See a list below of the wines we tasted:

Wines to bottle before the summer:

  • Chianti Classico 2017
  • Chianti Classico Riserva 2016
  • Chianti Classico Gran Selezione 2016
  • IGT Monteficalle 2016

Wines that will be bottled next year:

  • Chianti Classico Riserva 2017
  • Chianti Classico Gran Selezione 2017
  • IGT Monteficalle 2017

There is an important difference between the two vintages. During 2016, the climate started out with a very warm summer during June and July but, thereafter, the temperatures went down in August and September, especially during the mornings. This made it possible to maintain good acidity and to bring forth an excellent phenolic maturation and thus pushing the harvest to the end of September. The 2017 vintage was, on the other hand, one of the warmest years that we have experienced, and above all one of the driest. The vines suffered a great deal of water stress, and the grapes were considerably dehydrated and therefore had a high sugar concentration.
 
The Riserva and the Gran Selezione of 2016 are excellent examples of a balance between structure and elegance, showing overall what we have already seen in the Chianti Classico 2016. It is no doubt one of the best wines produced in recent years.
 
Also, IGT Monteficalle 2016 has shown to be very slim and vertical even though the Cabernet and the Merlot that generally gives the wine more body is a bit “staid”.
 
The sample tastings of the 2017 vintage turned out to be a very positive surprise! Thanks to our tastings, we could prove ourselves wrong in our belief that the wine might be too heavy, with a predominance of the fruit to the disadvantage of the floral notes, due to the drought and the heat. We have found that the 2017 is certainly a powerful and concentrated wine but without lacking in finesse and with good and pleasant acidity. At the nose, a certain complexity is particularly typical for the Montefioralle wines.

We are indeed very satisfied with the evolution of these vintages and we are about to get ready to prepare the wines for bottling. During the coming month, we plan to bottle the IGT Monteficalle 2016 by hand, while we for the Chianti Classico 2017, Riserva and Gran Selezione 2016 need to wait for the bottling truck to come in early June.