Wine “Fonterutoli” Chianti Classico DOCG, 2022

Description

Fonterutoli Chianti Classico DOCG 2022 is the company’s flagship and bestseller, the benchmark for all other wines. The wine is made from grapes grown in 7 different vineyard sites, at an altitude of 220-570 meters above sea level. The vines are planted mainly on limestone and marl soils. Fermentation in contact with the skins at a controlled temperature of 26-28 lasts 16-18 days. Then the wine is aged for 12 months in 225- and 500-liter French oak barrels. Before bottling, the wine spends 30-45 days in concrete tanks. The 2022 vintage was bottled in May 2024. The release took place in September 2024. The wine has a potential of 15 years.

The owners of Fonterutoli are the Marquises Mazzei, who also own the estates of Zisola in Sicily and Tenuta Belguardo in Tuscany. They played an important role in the history of Tuscan winemaking: thanks to Mazzei, the name of the wine “Chianti” appeared in 1398. Today, the Mazzei family owns 470 hectares of vineyards, 69 hectares of which are occupied by the Fonterutoli estate, located in 4 separate areas: Belvedere, Fonterutoli, Badiola and Siepi. One of the factors that determines the high concentration and complex aroma of Fonterutoli wines is the maintenance of low yields of vines: no more than 40 hectoliters of grapes are obtained from 1 hectare. The characteristic features of the berries growing in different areas also affect the formation of the taste of the wine. The grapes from the low plots of Siepi and Belvedere form a powerful structure, while the clones from the higher plots of Fonterutoli and Badiola give the wine richness and elegance. The harvest is given special attention: the grapes in the different plots are picked only by hand at different times, when the grapes have reached optimum ripeness. The winemaking process takes place under the supervision of the legendary agronomist-oenologist Carlo Ferrini, awarded the title of “Winemaker of the Year” by Gambero Rosso in 2000.