Do we ship to you?.
More wines available from Castello Della Sala (Antinori)
750ml - 1 Bottle
Bottle:
$45.45
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:
$118.34
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:
$100.95
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:
$88.95
This is big and powerful, without being ripe and heavy. So much apple, stone, and hints of toffee. Aromatic....
More Details
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
Of all the white wine grape varietals, surely the one which has spread the furthest and is most widely appreciated is the Chardonnay. This green skinned grape is now grown all over the Old and New Worlds, from New Zealand to the Americas, from England to Chile, and is one of the first varietals people think of when considering white wine grapes. Perhaps this is because of its huge popularity which reached a peak in the 1990s, thanks to new technologies combining with traditional methods to bring the very best features out of the Chardonnay grape, and allow its unique qualities to shine through. Most fine Chardonnay wines use a process known as malolactic fermentation, wherein the malic acids in the grape juice are converted to lactic acids, allowing a creamier, buttery nature to come forward in the wine. No grape varietal is better suited to this process than Chardonnay, which manages to balance these silky, creamy notes with fresh white fruit flavors beautifully.
Region: Umbria
The beautiful central Italian region of Umbria may well be a fraction of the size of neighboring Tuscany, but still manages to impress and surprise the international wine community with their outstanding produce and the volume they make it in, with the region turning out over twenty five million gallons of wine per year. However, Umbrian wine makers have been exceptionally keen to emphasize the fact that they are primarily concerned with creating quality, characterful and unique Italian wines, often made from blends of native varietals, with imported Bordeaux grapes. In particular, the aged white wines of Umbria, made from Chardonnay and Grechetto grapes, have proven to be a huge success internationally, demonstrating how this particular region is ready to blend traditional practices with innovation and the pursuit of perfection when it comes to making wines.
Country: Italy
Italy is recognised as being one of the finest wine producing countries in the world, and it isn't difficult to see why. With a vast amount of land across the country used primarily for vineyard cultivation and wine production, each region of Italy manages to produce a wide range of excellent quality wines, each representative of the region it is produced in. Any lover of Italian wines will be able to tell you of the variety the country produces, from the deliciously astringent and alpine-fresh wines of the northern borders, to the deliciously jammy and fruit-forward wines of the south and the Italian islands. Regions such as Barolo are frequently compared with Bordeaux and Burgundy in France, as their oak aged red wines have all the complexity and earthy, spicy excellence of some of the finest wines in the world, and the sparkling wines of Asti and elsewhere in Italy can easily challenge and often exceed the high standards put forward by Champagne. Thanks to excellent terrain and climatic conditions, Italy has long since proven itself a major player in the world of wines, and long may this dedication to quality and excellence continue.