Nittardi Belcanto Chianti Classico DOCG

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Nittardi Belcanto Chianti Classico DOCG is a ruby-red colour, bursting with juicy cherry and raspberry with hints of Mediterranean and floral notes on the nose. Medium bodied with grippy tannins on the palate and a fresh and long finish. Belcanto pairs well with starters and main courses of the creative Tuscan cuisine. It should be served at about 16° C. Natural fermentation in stainless steel tanks, followed by 12 months in used French oak barrels (500 liter) and botti (3500 liter), a few months in bottle.

Half of the grapes for Belcanto Chianti Classico come from the vineyards at Nittardi, located 450 meters above sea level, while the other half come from the vineyard in San Quirico, located south of Castellina at 270 meters. While at Nittardi they only have Sangiovese grapes, the San Quirico vineyard, planted in 1968, has Sangiovese and small amounts of seven other local grape varieties, including Canaiolo, Colorino and Malvasia Nera. Both vineyards enjoy a soil mix of limestone and clay with a rich skeleton of schist, which engenders the wine with a pleasant minerality. On the label of Belcanto, Michelangelo is portayed in a mosaic of Galestro stones, typical of the soil of our terroir.

The Nittardi Estate, on the boundary between the provinces of Siena and Florence, was originally a defensive tower known as early as 1183 by the name of “Nectar Dei” (The Nectar of the God). In the 16^th century, the vast property belonged to the Renaissance artist Michelangelo Buonarroti who, in 1549, while finishing the Sistine Chapel, wrote to his nephew Lionardo: “I’d prefer two casks of wine rather than eight shirts.” On that same occasion, Michelangelo also sent Nittardi wine to Rome as a “genuine gift to the Pope Paolo III”. Today, in honour of that tradition, every year the first bottles of Nectar Dei, the top wine from the Maremma vineyards, are presented to the Pope.

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