Rocca di Castagnoli

Molino delle Balze

Toscana IGT

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Vintage:

1999
2000
2003
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2013
2014
2015
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
Guide
Score
Edition
Espresso - Vini d'Italia
15,5 / 20
2008
Scarica pdf 2005
Espresso - Vini d'Italia
16 / 20
2009
Scarica pdf 2006
Espresso - Vini d'Italia
15,5 / 20
2010
Veronelli
89
2010
Scarica pdf 2007
Espresso - Vini d'Italia
14,5 / 20
2011
Scarica pdf 2009
SAKURA - Japan Women's Wine Awards
SILVER
2020
Raffaele Vecchione - WinesCritic
87
2020
Jamessuckling.com
88
2020
Ernesto Gentili - Wine Ratings
88
2020
Luca Maroni
91
2020
Scarica pdf 2018
Jamessuckling.com
88
2021
Luca Maroni
90
2021
Vinous - Antonio Galloni
93
2021
Raffaele Vecchione - WinesCritic
91
2021
SAKURA - Japan Women's Wine Awards
GOLD
2022
Scarica pdf 2019
Raffaele Vecchione - WinesCritic
92
2022
Vinous - Antonio Galloni
92
2022
Luca Maroni
91
2022
Scarica pdf 2020
Jamessuckling.com
90
2023
Raffaele Vecchione - WinesCritic
94
2023
Luca Maroni
93
2023
Tony Wood - Italian Wine
92
2024
SAKURA - Japan Women's Wine Awards
SILVER
2024
Scarica pdf 2021
Raffaele Vecchione - WinesCritic
93
2024
Falstaff
90
2024
Scarica pdf 2022

The Chianti Classico area is well-suited to white wines with good structure and elegance. The presence of rock and various minerals, such as Galestro stone and limestone, gives structure and acidity in particular to a variety such as Chardonnay which especially benefits from this terrain. The land is made even more suitable due to the constant climate of the upper area of Chianti Classico with a temperature range that accompanies the ripening of the grapes from August until the harvest in the second half of September.

Molino delle Balze is a historic estate label that has been produced since 1985 from approximately 3.90 hectares in 4 different plots:

- Podere La Stella: 1 hectare about 480 metres above sea level facing north-east with soils rich in Chianti macigno and other sandstones.

- Caciaie: 1 hectare at an altitude of approximately 400 metres exposed to the north, this area is characterised by areas rich in alberese and other calcareous arigillaceous sequences.

- Sodone: 1 hectare at an altitude of about 380 metres exposed to the West, this area is also characterised by the marked presence of alberese and limestone.

- Campi: 0.9 hectares at an altitude of about 300 metres exposed to the east, this area is definitely cooler with soils rich in Pietraforte and Alberese.

This diversity of soils, exposure and altitude allows the creation of Molino delle Balze, a full-bodied and structured Chardonnay capable of combining freshness and minerality. A wine also of great longevity.

APPELLATION Toscana IGT

GRAPE VARIETY 100% Chardonnay

VINEYARD Various plots in Loc. Castagnoli

SOIL Rich in Albarese stone and limestone

VINEYARD SIZE 3 ha

VINEYARD AGE Various, from 6 to 20 years old

EXPOSURE East/west

AVERAGE ALTITUDE 420m a.s.l.

VINEYARD DENSITY 5000 vines/hectare

AVERAGE YIELD PER PLANT 1kg

CULTIVATION/PRUNING Spur pruning

HARVEST Second half of September

MACERATION Cold pressing for 48 hours, followed by soft pressing

FERMENTATION 50% in steel and 50% in first and second passage barriques for about 10 days.

MALOLACTIC FERMENTATION Partly in wood and partly in steel

AGING At least 10 months in the bottle.

ANNUAL PRODUCTION About 10,000 bottles

SENSORY PROFILE A wine with intense minerality and flavor with notes of freshness that make it elegant and lingering, Molino delle Balze is a white wine with a clear, bright straw-yellow color. It has a lingering scent of peach and apricot with a background of quince and acacia honey. It is a wine that is supple and enveloping on the palate. Its perfect balance ends with an excellent lingering finish. It is intended to be drunk soon, but will evolve over the next 5-10 years.

PAIRING White meat, fresh and medium-aged cheeses, fish of all kinds.

SERVING TEMPERATURE 8-10°C