Antinori 2023 Cervaro della Sala

Description

Cervaro della Sala” is the famous label that Antinori produces on its estate in Umbria, not far from the Tuscan border: created in 1985 by Renzo Cotarella, it represents one of the first Italian whites to have carried out malolactic fermentation and aging in barriques. The name is a dedication to the history of the Castello della Sala shown on the bottle: built in 1350 on behalf of Angelo Monaldeschi della Vipera, whose ancient lineage arrived in Italy in the wake of Charlemagne, it goes through stormy events of intrigues and family clashes, up to the period of renewed serenity inaugurated by the marriage between Pietro Antonio and Giovanna Monaldeschi della Cervara.

Antinori makes “Cervaro della Sala” on the Castello della Sala estate, vinifying Chardonnay grapes and a balance of Grechetto grapes from a clayey soil abundantly scattered with marine fossils, on a calcareous soil. The vineyards extend for 200 hectares north of Orvieto, with north-east exposure, on slopes between 470 and 220 meters above sea level. The winemaking operations take place separately for the two varieties, inside the cellar built to exploit gravity. The skin maceration at a controlled temperature of 10 °C lasts for 4 days: the must is then poured by gravity into steel settling tanks, where a static clarification phase proceeds. The alcoholic and malolactic fermentation of the Chardonnay take place in French oak barrels: after about 5 months of rest, it is racked again in steel, combining it with Grechetto which has been processed only in stainless steel tanks. After blending and a period of rest, the wine is bottled and finally aged in the bottle for about 10 months in the cellars.