90 VINOUS – Eric Guido
Chianti Superiore, this is the name of a superior type with comparison to the normal Chianti because produced in vineyards with low yield and where the quality requirements are higher.
Fattoria del Colle had always produced Chianti until in 1997 this Superiore version was born and Donatella Cinelli Colombini decided to change and bet on this, and in so choosing the grapes from the better vineyards and producing a wine able to tell of the Tuscan tradition. She had a new label with three goblets designed, symbol of Trequanda where Fattoria del Colle is found. A colourful label is used, that recalls the blazons from medieval tournaments. In fact Donatella’s ancestors built the estate in 1592 upon the ruins of a much older tower that reveals traces of a long ago fire. There is consequently a long and maybe eventful history behind this wine.
Bottles produced: 20-30,000 depending on the vintage
PRODUCTION AREA
Those who visit Fattoria del Colle can see its 16 hectares of Vineyard organically cultivated and with plenty of manual care. The harvest too is done by hand, choosing all of the clusters one by one. The fermentation hall and the barrel ageing area are small and well equipped to produce limited quantities of a series of wines with great personality such as this Chianti Superiore. The estate covers 336 hectares on high hills at 404 meters above sea level.
GRAPE VARIETIES
Sangiovese and other authorized vines
The vineyards were planted between 1996 and 2013. Sound vines, in a natural equilibrium, surrounded by the beautiful intact countryside full of woods. There are no factories, but only many small fields like in an antique painting.
Donatella Cinelli Colombini’s Chianti Superiore is made practically with only Sangiovese; the presence of just a few complementary clusters is in respect of the tradition that sees Chianti as a blend of more varieties. Its dominant element is its elegance, typical of Sangiovese with the particular aroma of violet that characterizes this denomination among all the others.
