2018 Fontanelle, Castello Banfi, Tuscany, Italy, Toscana IGT

Banfi was founded in 1978 thanks to the will power of the Italian-American brothers, John and Harry Mariani. From the beginning, the goal of the two brothers was to create a state-of-the-art winery combined with the most advanced science in the vineyards for the production of premium wines.

Together with the Mariani family, it was developed with Ezio Rivella, one of Italy's foremost oenologists, who understood that due to the richness of the soils and the privileged microclimatic position, the property would have great capacity of development.

This wine is coming from estate vineyards in the southern hills of Montalcino. Altitude: 250 meters above sea level.

The whole grape bunches are chilled to 8-10°C prior to pressing and destemming. The free-run juice is then separated and clarified over 48 hours by cold sedimentation, and only the clear must is racked into barriques and inoculated with yeasts for the alcoholic fermentation. After fermentation, the room temperature is lowered to 10°C to avoid the beginning of malolactic fermentation. An aging period on the fine lees follows during 5-6 months with a weekly stirring of the lees. An 8-10-month bottle aging concludes the cycle.

This 100% Chardonnay belongs to the Castello Banfi estate-bottled single-varietals range. Thanks to the microclimate of our Montalcino vineyards and to the aging in barrique, this is an aristocratic favorite, a varietal imbued with complexity.