Nittardi vertical: Tasting three decades of Chianti Classico Riservas

If you would imagine a ‘nectar dei’, you wouldn’t expect anything but a sought-after wine, as lends the Italian translation. Nittardi seems to be directly related to this Latin phrase, meaning ‘God’s nectar’, and their Chianti Classicos are indeed aplenty of fruit with a faintly austere power.

This is one of the oldest estates in the Chianti region, having once belonged to Renaissance artist Michelangelo Buonarroti. ‘There’s a letter dated to 1549 where the artist asks for a demijohn of Trebbiano to be sent to Rome as a gift for the Pope,’ says Leon Femfert, the son of Peter Femfert and Stefania Canali, and who is today at the helm of the estate.

Scroll down for Aldo’s top Nittardi Chianti Classico Riservas

Nittardi is a family-owned boutique winery with 15ha of vineyards and an annual production of 130,000 bottles. To reach the estate – whether arriving from nearby Castellina or Panzano – you will encounter at least 2km of gravel roads showcasing the purity of the nature that surrounds the estate’s vineyards.

The property is within the municipality of Castellina in Chianti, but this designation doesn’t divulge the entire truth: the prominent hillside tells another story, as does the wine.

Vigna Alta

Carlo Ferrini, Nittardi’s consultant and one of the most talented winemakers in Italy, underlines the importance of different slopes to achieve a greater understanding of the nine towns that comprise the Chianti Classico appellation.

Vigna Alta, from which the Chianti Classico Riserva is made, is a south-facing vineyard at around 500m above sea level, rich in schist soil – here called ‘galestro’ – which is different from the chalky ‘alberese’ soil of upper Castellina as well as the sandy soils of Castellina Scalo. The site has the same exposition of Panzano in a sort of fishbone shape, above the region’s Conca d’Oro, or ‘golden basin’.

The vineyard was planted in 1981 with a double cordon-like training system in order to foster competition among the vines. The wine is mostly Sangiovese – between 90 and 95% – with a small percentage of Merlot.

Lovers of traditional Italian wine could challenge a ‘nectar dei’ that includes the use of Merlot, however it serves to soften the Sangiovese enough to be supple and balanced.

The winemaking is precisely crafted with delicate extractions and relatively short macerations at a moderate temperature (28°C maximum), with ever-present velvety tannins as per Ferrini’s style. However, the wine shows good ageing potential due to its balance and a crafty use of partially new French oak tonneaux.

Aldo’s top Nittardi Chianti Classico Riservas:

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