Antinori Bramito Della Sala Chardonnay

Description

Antinori Bramito Della Sala is an Italian white wine produced from 100% Chardonnay grapes. It is made at the Antinori’s Castello della Sala estate in Umbria, central Italy. It is the little sibling to the more famous Cervaro della Sala, a Chardonnay / Grechetto blend. Bramito was first produced in 1994.

Antinori: Six Centuries of Winemaking

Marchesi Antinori has been producing wine in Tuscany for six centuries. It was founded in 1385 when Giovanni di Piero Antinori became a member of the “Arte Fiorentina dei Vinattieri”, the Florentine Winemakers’ Guild. The company continues to go from strength to strength 26 generations later. Antinori is probably most famous for producing one of the original Super-Tuscan wines, Tignanello, and has estates throughout Italy (Peppoli in Chianti and Pian delle Vigne in Montalcino) and the rest of the world, including Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars in Napa Valley, USA.

Castello della Sala Wine Estate

In 1987, Antinori introduced its first Chardonnay-based wine with the 1985 vintage Cervaro della Sala. The name translates as “Stag of the Hall”, which was taken from the 14th-century feudal owners of Castello della Sala, the Monaldeschi della Cervara.

The property was purchased by Antinori in 1940 and is located in Umbria, a short distance from the Tuscan border, approximately 11 miles from the historic city of Orvieto. It covers some 600 hectares with 229 hectares under vine.

The vineyards are planted with traditional varieties, such as Procanico and Grechetto, as well as Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, Pinot Blanc, Viognier, and a small quantity of Traminer and Riesling.

Antinori Bramito Della Sala

The 100% Chardonnay grapes for Bramito are sourced from vineyards surrounding the medieval castle at Castello della Sala. The vineyards are planted on soils rich in fossil deposits with veins of clay that give the wine minerality and elegance. The juice is only part barrel fermented, with malolactic fermentation lending a luscious, creamy texture
and flavour to the wine.

Winemaking

• 100% Chardonnay.
• Freshly harvested grapes are brought to the cellar, destemmed, and gently crushed to begin processing.
• The must and skins are chilled to 10°C (50°F) for a brief cold maceration period of approximately 2-4 hours to enhance flavours and extract the grape variety’s aromatic and flavour compounds.
• After clarification in stainless steel vats, different lots are separated and handled individually to maintain distinct characteristics.
• Some lots are transferred to oak vessels while others remain in stainless steel vats for alcoholic fermentation at controlled temperatures of 16-18°C (61-64°F).
• Only the oak-fermented lots undergo malolactic fermentation, while the stainless steel lots skip this secondary fermentation process.
• The various lots are blended to create the final wine composition before bottling.