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More wines available from Castello Della Sala (Antinori)
750ml - 1 Bottle
Bottle:
$44.78
The 2021 Bramìto della Sala is an Umbrian Chardonnay that reaches up from the glass with a sweetly seductive mix of...
750ml
Bottle:
$17.60
$20.11
Rich and savory in the glass, the 2022 Bramito della Sala slowly opens to show hints of young peach and apricot,...
750ml - 1 Bottle
Bottle:
$118.87
A big and powerful white with layers of apple pie, minerals and hints of toasted oak. Full body, with a chalk, lemon...
750ml - 1 Bottle
Bottle:
$107.80
2015 was a textbook vintage and this is a great Cervaro. Citrus, cream and white flowers on the nose lead seamlessly...
750ml - 1 Bottle
Bottle:
$89.95
This is big and powerful, without being ripe and heavy. So much apple, stone, and hints of toffee. Aromatic....
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Vintage: 2011
The year 2011 was an interesting year for many northern and central European countries, as the weather was more than unpredictable in the spring and summer. However, in most countries, the climatic conditions thankfully settled down in the late summer and fall. The result of this slightly difficult year of weather in France was a set of surprisingly small yields, but overall, these yields were of a higher quality than those harvested in certain previous years. A fantastic set of wines was also made in Italy and Spain, and the Rioja wines - when released - are set to be very good indeed. Austria also had superb year in 2011, with almost fifty percent more grapes being grown and used for their distinctive Gruner Veltliner wines than in the year before. Possibly the European country which had the finest 2011, though, was Portugal, with wineries in the Douro region claiming this year to be one of the best in decades for the production of Port wine, and the bright, young Vinho Verdes wines.
In the New World, the Pacific Northwest saw some of the best weather of 2011, and Washington State and Oregon reportedly had a highly successful year, especially for the cultivation of high quality red wine grapes. Chile and Argentina had a relatively cool year, which certainly helped retain the character of many of their key grape varietals, and should make for some exciting drinking. South Africa had especially good weather for their white wine grape varietals, particularly Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, and many South African wineries are reporting 2011 as one of their best years in recent memory.
Varietal: Chardonnay
For most people, the Chardonnay grape varietal is one of the quintessential white wine grapes. It isn't difficult to understand why; Chardonnay may well have started off in regions of France (where it is still used widely today in both single variety white wines as well as sparkling Champagne wines) but it is now grown in every wine producing country in the world. Indeed, it was the New World that took Chardonnay to some exciting new extremes – this relatively neutral grape has the fantastic ability to carry much of its terroir in the bottle, resulting in a fascinating range of flavors and styles. Furthermore, Chardonnay is one of the few white wine grapes which is well suited to aging, as can be seen in some of the excellent produce consistently coming out of Burgundy, and elsewhere in the world. With everything from buttery, creamy characteristics to vibrant tropical fruit notes, Chardonnay will never cease to surprise and impress.
Region: Umbria
The small central Italian wine region of Umbria has a wine making history which stretches back over two thousand years, and was considered an important center of viticulture by the Romans, who used the fine soils and excellent climatic conditions in Umbria for the production of their wines. Today, the wine industry in the region remains strong and unique, with the region benefiting enormously from the excellent weather and terroirs which typify the region. Many wineries in Umbria keen to experiment with imported grape varietals, which are often blended and aged with native varietals in order to make highly characterful and delicious wines. In particular, the blended white wines made from Chardonnay and Grechetto grapes are well worth looking out for, as are those made from Sangiovese and imported French varietals.
Country: Italy
For several decades in the mid to late twentieth century, Italy's reputation for quality wines took a fairly serious blow. This was brought about partly due to lack of regulation in certain regions, and too much regulation in others. This led to several wineries in the beautiful and highly fertile region of Tuscany making the bold move to work outside of the law, which they saw as responsible for the drop in quality in Tuscan wines. They believed that they had the expertise and the generations of experience necessary with which to make truly excellent, world class wines, and set about doing just that. These 'Super Tuscans', as they came to be known, quickly inspired the rest of Italy to improve their produce, and now, Italian wine producers in the twenty-first century are widely recognised to be amongst the best in the world. Regulation and law began to change, and wine drinkers across the globe woke up to the outstanding wines coming out of Italy, which are continuing to improve and impress to this day.