ITS HISTORY-RICH FRONT LABEL PRESENTS FRESCOBALDI’S HISTORY FROM 1200 AD

door | 16 mei 2020 | Geen categorie

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Gaiole in Chianti, 14 May 2020.  The 2016 vintage has now been released, the fruit of a one-of-a-kind terroir, a natural, south-facing amphitheatre at 400-500 metres’ elevation, whose terraced vineyards further heighten the characteristics of its surrounding growing area. 

Tenuta PERANO’s front label is an expressive reference to the Frescobaldi coat of arms placed in 1250 AD on the family palazzo in Florence. It contains three visual components testifying to the centuries-old values of the family: the lion for their role as Nobles of the Sword and Nobles of the Spirit, the helmet symbolising their military chivalry, and the figure of Fortune with a wind-filled sail, personifying commerce, plus the phrase “Hope in God,” attesting to the family’s Christian background.  

The magnificent amphitheatre on the Tenuta PERANO that is home to the vineyards that yield Rialzi boasts soils and micro-climates that are diverse yet complementary, shaping three distinctive souls, as it were, each infusing its own distinct Chianti Classico: the standard Chianti Classico (Annata), the Riserva, and Rialzi Chianti Classico Gran Selezione, which is the single-vineyard cru. The pebble-rich soils contain varying amounts of clay, silt, alberese marl, galestro schist, and chalky macigno sandstone, conditions that enable the vines to cope with lack of water and organic material.    

Rialzi is the symphony of Tenuta Perano. You enter on tip-toe, since it gives you no sudden, full embrace, but your first sip gives you an idea of its beauty, its intriguing personality,” comments President Lamberto Frescobaldi. “Rialzi enjoys a remarkably delicate suite of tannins and seemingly limitless depth, fruit of the 550-metre elevation of its vineyard and of near-obsessive vineyard work, aimed at producing a superbly-honed wine. This is a wine that has been years in coming. Tenuta Perano was a long a goal of my family, and we selected in particular the Rialzi vineyard, which stands out from the others, thanks to its distinctive three natural terraces. And this is a Gran Selezione whose very name in Italian reminds me every day of a continual ‘thrust” towards absolute excellence.”

The 2016 growing year at Tenuta Perano started off with severe winter with plenty of rain, and even snow” reported Nicolò d’Afflitto, Frescobaldi Winemaker and Technical Director. “Spring entered mild, however, and its warmth roused the vines from their winter sleep and brought a normal budbreak, around 20 April. Generous canopies soon began developing, and we were seeing flowering already in the first week in June. Summer was sunny and breezy, encouraging excellent photosynthesis in the leaves. Veraison here coloured the clusters right on schedule, in August, and there were two beneficial rains, which actually assisted the grapes to achieve an optimal, juicy ripeness. Our marvellous harvest, which kicked off in mid-October, gave us healthy, outstanding-quality Sangiovese. Overall, 2106 gave us a wine that is exceptional for its aromatic complexity and full-volumed body.”       

Under the coordination of Technical Director Nicolò d’Afflitto, the Tenuta Perano team, consisting ofyoung 30- and 40-year-olds, works an estate that covers 250 hectares, of which 60 are in vineyard, mostly lying in the township of Gaiole in Chianti. The vineyards are planted 90% to Sangiovese, with a small amount of Canaiolo, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon.