Vignamaggio Chianti Classico Terre di Prenzano 2012
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2019-
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Vignamaggio is one of Tuscany’s oldest farming estates: a working farm since 1404, Vignamaggio has been cultivating grapes and making wine for over 600 years and it is today one of the leading wineries in the Greve in Chianti subzone.
Located in Greve, halfway between Florence and Siena, the estate extends for over 250 hectares (approx 62 planted to vines) in the heart of the Chianti Classico region. The entire farm is certified organic. At the core of the estate is the Renaissance Villa surrounded by Italian-style gardens, rows of cypresses, vines and olive groves (30ha). The Villa at Vignamaggio was was built by the Gherardini family in the 14th Century. If this family name sounds familiar, it is probably because of the famous Monna Lisa Gherardini, the “Gioconda” painted by Leonardo da Vinci between 1503 and 1506. Legend has it that Lisa Gherardini spent her childhood and teenage years at Vignamaggio, the home of her cousins, the Gherardis, who owned the villa from 1421.
Throughout the centuries, the estates had several owners. More recently, in 1988 the property went through an extensive renovation of the buildings and gardens. The historic wine cellars, located below the villa, were equipped with state-of-the-art temperature-controlled stainless- steel vats and several investments were made in replanting and updating the vineyards as well.
Among Italy's elite red grape varieties, Sangiovese has the perfect intersection of bright red fruit and savory earthiness and is responsible for the best red wines of Tuscany. While it is best known as the chief component of Chianti, it is also the main grape in Vino Nobile di Montepulciano and reaches the height of its power and intensity in the complex, long-lived Brunello di Montalcino. Somm Secret—Sangiovese doubles under the alias, Nielluccio, on the French island of Corsica where it produces distinctly floral and refreshing reds and rosés.
One of the first wine regions anywhere to be officially recognized and delimited, Chianti Classico is today what was originally defined simply as Chianti. Already identified by the early 18th century as a superior zone, the official name of Chianti was proclaimed upon the area surrounding the townships of Castellina, Radda and Gaiole, just north of Siena, by Cosimo III, Grand Duke of Tuscany in an official decree in 1716.
However, by the 1930s the Italian government had appended this historic zone with additonal land in order to capitalize on the Chianti name. It wasn’t until 1996 that Chianti Classico became autonomous once again when the government granted a separate DOCG (Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita) to its borders. Ever since, Chianti Classico considers itself no longer a subzone of Chianti.
Many Classicos are today made of 100% Sangiovese but can include up to 20% of other approved varieties grown within the Classico borders. The best Classicos will have a bright acidity, supple tannins and be full-bodied with plenty of ripe fruit (plums, black cherry, blackberry). Also common among the best Classicos are expressive notes of cedar, dried herbs, fennel, balsamic or tobacco.