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Tenuta Sette Ponti's first release was the 1998 vintage Crognolo, named after a wild bush, Cornus, which grows on the estate. The blend of Sangiovese and Merlot from vines of an average age of 25 to 35 years yields a refined, elegantly stylish wine of fruit forward lushness. The wine's dense color suggests a concentration confirmed on the palate along with sweet ripe flavors of wild cherries, black fruit, leather and vanilla also evident in the aromas. The wine is firmly structured yet elegant, with good tannic support and well-integrated oak notes, leaving an overall impression of harmony, balance and length.
- Country: Italy
- Region: Toscana
- Sub-region/Appellation: Toscana IGT
The estate of Sette Ponti lies in the heart of the Chianti zone, fifteen miles northwest of the city of Arezzo just past the village of San Giustino Valdarno. The Via del Monte, known locally as the Via dei Sette Ponti, leads into a beautiful hidden valley and to the estate. The name Sette Ponti, or "seven bridges," refers to the seven bridges crossing the Arno River on the road from Arezzo to Florence. The first, the Ponte Buriano, is nearby. Erected in the mid 13th century, it took nearly forty years to build, and is perceptible in the right far background of Leonardo DaVinci's Mona Lisa.
Tenuta Sette Ponti, the family estate of Dr. Antonio Moretti, is, like many Tuscan estates, multi-faceted. The 750-acre property supports livestock and mixed agriculture, and although viticulture is not new to the estate, winemaking is; the yield of the property's vineyards was until 1997 sold to various respected Tuscan wine producers, among them Piero Antinori. Dr. Moretti's enjoyment of wine led him to ask Antinori if the estate vineyards could produce great wines, and Antinori thought they could. The estate has since been transformed through the consultation of respected oenologist Carlo Ferrini and his assistant, Gioia Cresti; Gilbert Bouvet, one of France's most skilled viticulturalists; and agronomist Benedetto d'Anna, who guided preparation for new plantings.
The southerly-exposed vineyards occupy a total of 150 acres at an altitude of 200 to 300 metres (600 to 900 feet) on a variety of soils which include limestone, clay, sand and the rocky galestro of Chianti. The oldest vines called the Vigna dell' Impero (the "Vineyard of the Empire"), lie on a five-acre plot planted in 1935 by Vittorio Emmanuele di Savoia, Count of Turin. This hand-terraced vineyard, planted primarily to Sangiovese vines, is adjacent to an 87-acre plot, also of principally Sangiovese vines, planted in the early1960s. Newer plantings, which total 68 acres and date from 1997, 1999 and 2000, are apportioned 35 acres to Sangiovese, eighteen acres to Merlot, thirteen acres to Cabernet Sauvignon and five acres to experimental varieties.
A green harvest in May reduces clusters to one or two per stock. At harvest the clusters are handpicked, sorted, destemmed, and the skins broken rather than crushed. Fermentation with selected yeasts takes place in a combination of temperature controlled stainless steel and lined open-top fermentors. A maceration period of 20 days including fermentation, with pumping over of the juice and manual punching down of the cap, is followed by natural malolactic fermentation in tank. The wine is placed in oak, consisting primarily of 225-liter barriques with some capacity in 500-litre tonneaux, for a period of twelve to eighteen months. A first blending of lots takes place when the wine is placed in barrique; a second at the first racking. Six months in bottle precede release.
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