Tenuta di Nozzole Toscana Chardonnay le Bruniche |
Bright, ripe tropical fruit flavors and aromas mark this clean, refined Chardonnay of medium body, finely-tuned balance and supple texture underscored by a fresh acidic note.
This wine pairs well with fish, shellfish and chicken.Vigneto Le Bruniche lies on one of the estate's most elevated hillsides, at 900 feet above sea level, on soils consisting of limestone schists and porous marl rubble with an optimum ground thermal temperature and excellent exposure. Extensive experimentation with various clones of Chardonnay preceded selection of the most appropriate vine for the site. The 1986 vintage Vigneto Le Bruniche was the first to show the results of this meticulous research.
The fruit is gently hand-harvested in mid to late September, achieving exceptional ripeness, with a sugar content usually approaching 23 Brix. The grapes are de-stemmed and gently expressed in Bucher presses, and the must chilled in stainless steel tanks at 8 C (46 F) for 12 to 24 hours to yield a perfectly clean, brilliant must with maximum preservation of fruit freshness. At the end of this period, the must is racked into clean stainless steel tanks. Fermentation is set off with selected yeasts and is completed over a period of 30 days at a temperature of 15 to 18 C (59 to 65 F). There is no malolactic fermentation, and depending on the vintage, a small percentage of the wine spends approximately four months in barrique to enhance the aromatic complexity and texture of the blend. The finished wine is lightly filtered and racked into oak uprights of 4,000 to 6,000 litres' capacity where it is kept for at least two months at a temperature of 15 C (59 F) until bottling to order.