Nose
Principally red fruits, sour black cherries, ripe cherries and blackberries. Spicy notes are overlaid with an intense nose of toasted tobacco.
Palate
A balanced fusion of forest fruits with soft, bright tannins and a long, liquorice finish.
Growing Conditions
The grapes come from the vineyards of Prato, Querceto and Solatio from Greve and Panzano in Chianti.
The vineyards from which this wine is produced lie on the Sillano formation, where the soils are heterogeneous but generally moderately clay-rich, low in limestone, with a sub-alkaline pH, and rich in calcareous and sand stones.
Harvest
The harvest is entirely manual and usually takes place from mid-September to early October.
YIELD PER HECTARE: 38 hl/Ha
Winemaking
Our well-balanced, seductive Riserva Gherardino is made of 80–90% Sangiovese and 10–20% Merlot grapes.
The destemmed grapes are placed in separate steel tanks for each vineyard, and fermentation and maceration on the skins take place for approximately 12 days. During this period, délestage and pumping over are performed. After racking, the wine is decanted and undergoes malolactic fermentation.
Aging
Sangiovese ages for at least 18 months in 15-20 hl oak barrels. The Merlot ages for 18 months in barriques. Aging in the bottle is at least 3 months.
Appearance
A luminous ruby red, tempered by hints of pomegranate.
Food Pairing
Fricasseed chicken thighs with red pepper sauce, pasta or rice dishes with meat or game sauces, or tagliatelle with wild boar sauce.