Italiano
Nittardi, when wine meets art (2)
Today sparks will fly because the two wines we will we looking at are even better than those reviewed yesterday. The wines are very different from each other. While Chianti Classico Riserva Selezionata Nittardi has the austerity and freshness of Sangiovese, Nectar Dei Maremma Toscana IGT has the roundness and boldness of a Mediterranean Bordeaux blend.
The first vintage of Chianti Classico Riserva was 1985 and it was a Sangiovese with a 10% addition of other grapes that aged in cement vats and large chestnut barrels. The first real change for the wine came in 1995 when it was made in the new winery and experimentation began using barriques for aging. In 1999, Merlot was added to the blend and the barriques were gradually replaced by the 500-liter tonneau barrels. Today the wine is a Sangiovese with a 5% addition of Merlot that ages in tonneau barrels for 24 months and then another six months in cement vats before aging further in the bottle.
The first year for Nectar Dei was 2003 and was made with the first harvest after the estate was acquired. Various percentages of six different varietals compose the blend which is based on Cabernet Sauvignon (between 40 and 60%) with a significant amount of Syrah which initially was 20% before being diminished to 10%. The opposite occurred with Petit Verdot with the initial low percentage rising to 20%, while the percentage of Merlot has remained more or less stable. What makes this wine unique is the presence of Arinarnoa, a hybrid of Merlot and Petit Verdot that has a high concentration of polyphenols that represents around 8% of the blend, and a minimal addition of Tannat to bolster the tannins. The wine ages in barriques, one third of which are new wood. In recent years they have experimented using tonneau barrels for the Syrah and Petit Verdot. Peter Femfert has not ruled out adding a tad of Sangiovese to the blend in the future to give it freshness and drinkability.
Selected below are the vintages of the two wines I liked the best. I chose one per decade for the Chianti Classico while for Nectar Dei I picked the ones I preferred. All the bottles were magnums.
