Producer name: TOLAINI
Appellation of Origin: I.G.T. TOSCANA ROSSO
Variety: 100% Merlot
Vinification: Fermented in French barriques (100% new oak), aged in the same barriques for 18 months (first 6 months on lees), then bottled for 12 months.
JAN code: 4582565772999
Reference evaluation
Gambero Rosso...Top Award Tre Bicchieri (2010)
Wine Advocate: 95 points (2015), 94 points (2010)
Wine Spectator: 93 points (2015)
Wine Spectator October 2014 Blind Tasting Project...Ch. 2nd place after Masseto, beating out Cheval Blanc and others (2010)
James Suckling – 93 points (2015)
Veronelli: Highest Award Blue 3 Stars 95 Points (2015)
Layers of concentrated fruit aromas of cherries, raspberries, plums, etc., with hints of spices, vanilla, and licorice. In addition to the muscular taste with concentrated fruitiness and abundant tannins, the clean minerality that is characteristic of Galestro makes for a very elegant and sensual taste. The owner, Pier Luigi Traini, is a bit of a celebrity in the Italian wine industry, having traveled abroad and achieved great success in one generation. Born into a poor family in Garafagnana in northern Tuscany, Pier Luigi had a desire from an early age to "make wine like the nobility," and, believing in a success story, he traveled to Canada and became the largest shipping company in Canada. In 1998, he returned to Tuscany, bought a vineyard in the Castelnuovo Berardenga region in the southern part of Chianti Classico, and established a winery. They installed modern winemaking equipment, appointed the Cinderella wine contractor Michel Rolland as their winemaking consultant, and quickly became one of the top producers in the Chianti Classico region. In 2017, Alberto Fuji, who was formerly the head winemaker at Rivernano in Radda in Chianti, was appointed general manager. Luca Dattoma, the winemaker at Le Macchiole and Tua Rita, was employed as their winemaking consultant.
Location of the field
Traini's vineyards are located in the Castelnuovo Berardenga area in the south of Chianti Classico. Just to the southeast is Gaiole's excellent producer San Giusto a Rentennano. Further east is Berardenga's representative producer Felsina, and other excellent producers in the prime location of Chianti Classico, where it is said that particularly powerful Sangiovese is produced. Traini's vineyards are characterized by gently curving hills in the shape of a profilo di culo (meaning a woman's curve). It is said that this hill shape allows air to circulate when the wind blows. The olive trees scattered throughout the vineyards and the isolated forests are all for the sake of "balance" in nature. Traini owns two main vineyards.
・Montebello (Alpasso vineyard, for Chianti, Merlot, Petit Verdot)
San Giovanni (mainly Cabernet Sauvignon Franc grown for the Val di Santi)
At Traini, the soil is made by alternating rows of green manure and compost (they apparently change them every other year). This allows them to control the nutrients and moisture content of the soil. Depending on the location of the field, they use green manure and compost as described above, and in areas where it is not necessary at all, they do not use green manure or compost. In addition, depending on the field, they also use irrigation. *Irrigation is not installed on all fields, but only in areas that require it. Irrigation is not possible in normal DOCG Chianti, but it is possible at Traini because it is an IGT. In other words, they carefully determine whether or not to use irrigation, green manure, fertilizer, etc. depending on the soil.
Traini's fields are on a very steep slope. The color of the soil changes between the lower and upper parts of the slope. In other words, the soil components are different, so even in the same furrow, the soil is carefully managed at each point. To carry out such detailed management in a large field, you have to work in a low position for a long time, which puts a strain on your legs and back and is quite harsh. To do this efficiently, Traini has developed its own dedicated working machine. This is a machine that allows you to care for and harvest grape trees while sitting. It can be operated without using your hands, using only your feet, so you can work in the field with both hands without being tied up with operating it. In this way, they pay close attention to the working environment and create an environment where workers can work easily, which has led to the quality and high evaluation of Traini's wine. In addition, this area has little rainfall, making it an ideal location for field hygiene. For this reason, although it is not certified, grapes are grown using organic farming methods that can be called "bio".
It received high praise, beating out super famous wines from Italy and France!
In a Wine Spectator magazine project, Master of Wine Fred Dexheimer gathered nine top sommeliers representing New York to blind taste high-end wines from the 2008 vintage by variety. In the Sangiovese category, Al Passo won first place, beating out Montevertine and Tignanello. In the Merlot category, Picconero won first place, beating out Massetto and Cheval Blanc. In the Cabernet Sauvignon category, Val di Santi won third place, beating out Ch. Mouton Rothschild.
Comment from FredDexheimer
"In a blind tasting, you never know what the results will be, but Tolaini's wines were impressive. We are proud to have achieved such a great result when compared to the top wineries in the world."