San Vito Amantiglio Toscana Chardonnay 2013
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Tenuta San Vito lies in the hills of the Chianti Colli Fiorentini, 18 kilometers from Florence. The estate has always been characterized by high-quality agricultural products combined with a deep respect for the environment and for protecting the health of the land. The property includes 30 hectares of vines, 20 hectares of olive groves and 100 hectares of forest, which surrounds the entire estate serving as a buffer against its neighbors.
The modern history of Tenuta San Vito began when Roberto Drighi purchased this land in 1960. By 1980 his daughter Laura came to recognize the negative impact of chemical treatments on the land and their produce. A trained psychologist, she overcame her father’s and his staff’s initial opposition and convinced them that organic farming was the way. Today this commitment is carried forward by Neri Gazulli, who is now in charge of the property.
Since 1982 San Vito has been cultivating its crops in accordance with organic principles, producing its wines and olive oils without any use of weed-killers, pesticides, or synthetic chemical treatments. They are one of the very first properties in Tuscany to adopt organic viticulture, and from 1985 on, all of San Vito's products have been certified organic. While vineyards that have recently been converted to organic from conventional farming can sometimes harbor small amounts of chemicals for several years after conversion, nearly four decades of steadfast organic cultivation means there are no longer any traces of chemical treatments in the soil or vines here.
Over the years, the spurred cordon method of vine training has replaced the older Guyot system, allowing the adoption of more modern vineyard management practices. The wines are fermented in stainless-steel vats and aged in Slavonian and French oak, as well as some glass-lined concrete vats. Attilio Pagli, San Vito's current winemaker, was born in Tuscany and pursued his professional studies in Italy; his numerous contacts on the international scene allowed him to deepen his oenological experience. Pagli carefully oversees every step of the harvest, wine making, and ageing of the wines.
One of the most popular and versatile white wine grapes, Chardonnay offers a wide range of flavors and styles depending on where it is grown and how it is made. While it tends to flourish in most environments, Chardonnay from its Burgundian homeland produces some of the most remarkable and longest lived examples. California produces both oaky, buttery styles and leaner, European-inspired wines. Somm Secret—The Burgundian subregion of Chablis, while typically using older oak barrels, produces a bright style similar to the unoaked style. Anyone who doesn't like oaky Chardonnay would likely enjoy Chablis.
One of the most iconic Italian regions for wine, scenery and history, Tuscany is the world’s most important outpost for the Sangiovese grape. Tuscan wine ranges in style from fruity and simple to complex and age-worthy, Sangiovese makes up a significant percentage of plantings here, with the white Trebbiano Toscano coming in second.
Within Tuscany, many esteemed wines have their own respective sub-zones, including Chianti, Brunello di Montalcino and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. The climate is Mediterranean and the topography consists mostly of picturesque rolling hills, scattered with vineyards.
Sangiovese at its simplest produces straightforward pizza-friendly Tuscan wines with bright and juicy red fruit, but at its best it shows remarkable complexity and ageability. Top-quality Sangiovese-based wines can be expressive of a range of characteristics such as sour cherry, balsamic, dried herbs, leather, fresh earth, dried flowers, anise and tobacco. Brunello, an exceptionally bold Tuscan wine, expresses well the particularities of vintage variations and is thus popular among collectors. Chianti is associated with tangy and food-friendly dry wines at various price points. A more recent phenomenon as of the 1970s is the “Super Tuscan”—a red wine made from international grape varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Syrah, with or without Sangiovese. These are common in Tuscany’s coastal regions like Bolgheri, Val di Cornia, Carmignano and the island of Elba.