Ruffino – Brunello di Montalcino – D.O.C.G. – Greppone Mazzi Estate – Ruffino Estates – Classic Red – Avvenice

$61.18

Ruffino – Since 1877 – Award Winning Wines from the Heart of Tuscany

Ruffino was born in 1877 in Pontassieve from the intuition of two cousins, Ilario and Leopoldo. Their ambition is that the wine appreciated in their lands can also please those who do not have the good fortune to be able to taste it every day, and live, perhaps, very far.

It was an immediate and swirling success, built on the goodness of the wines and on an entrepreneurial foresight in the uncommon times. In fact, the Ruffino cousins’ wine was immediately liked so much, so that in 1895 in Bordeaux the gold medal was awarded at the Chianti Ruffino.

Successes follow each other and already at the beginning of the twentieth century these successes lead to identify Ruffino as a synonym of Italian wine in the world through Chianti. These are the years of the birth of a true icon of Italian enology, Riserva Ducale, which in 1927 celebrates one of the most illustrious admirers of Ruffino, the Duke of Aosta who had chosen this wine to lay the tables of the court of the Italy King.

Riserva Ducale is just one of the imprints left by Ruffino in the history of Italian enology, also marked by the iconic fiasco, the bottle symbol of the entire category of Chianti, known in the world thanks to Chianti Ruffino.

Brunello di Montalcino – D.O.C.G. – Greppone Mazzi Estate

Very traditional as style, but also elegant in aromas, with typical and refined tones of black cherry and tobacco, and full but agile to taste.

Behind The Wine

Greppone Mazzi is the name of the estate of Ruffino where the homonymous Brunello di Montalcino is created. Greppone Mazzi is a traditional and very elegant Brunello, produced in small quantities and only in the best vintages.

The vineyards for the production of this wine come from two distinct areas of excellence within the denomination: the “Greppi”, where there is also the estate, in the highest and coldest area, and “Le Logge”, more temperate, southeast of Montalcino, near Castelnuovo dell’Abate. The grapes of the “greppi” confer elegance and finesse, while “Le Logge” give structure and vigor. Even vinification respects the best tradition: Brunello di Montalcino Greppone Mazzi ages for three years in large oak barrels of 30 and 60 hectoliters.

Montalcino is a small town in the south of Tuscany in the province of Siena, located on top of a hill and crowned with rows of vineyards that over time have gradually replaced the oaks (Montalcino means “mountain of oaks”). Montalcino, in medieval times, as evidenced by the fortress and other defense architectures still visible in the historic village, has been the center of many battles between Siena and Florence.

The star portrayed in the bottle label of Greppone Mazzi Riserva is a stylization of a wrought iron star of an ancient well located in the eighteenth-century villa in the center of the estate. Ruffino has chosen this image as a symbol of quality and tradition for one of its most prestigious wines.

This wine exemplifies the search for Ruffino of absolute excellence in the most suitable areas of “his” Tuscany. Small quantities, made exasperated, uncompromising quality have elevated Greppone Mazzi among the great wines of the world. In addition, recent tastings of old vintages have also enshrined the extraordinary longevity of this jewel: the 95 points assigned by Wine Spectator to the 1999 vintage sampled in 2011 are proof of this.

Brunello di Montalcino D.O.C.G.

The specification of Brunello di Montalcino, among the oldest and most restrictive, requires the use of only Sangiovese Grosso (100%) for vinification. The yield must be a maximum of 8 tons per hectare and there is an obligation of aging in wood at least 3 years, in addition to a period of storage in bottle for at least 4 months. A Brunello can not be released for consumption before the first of January following the fourth year of the harvest (example: the 2007 harvest will be marketed in January 2012).

Montalcino offers ideal terroir conditions for the production of a great wine. The Sangiovese, first of all, a wine of great quality that in Montalcino assumes its own characteristics and even more qualitative, such to be called “grosso” or “Brunello” for the thickness and darker tones of its skins, the most noble part of cluster.

The soils, then, are characterized by the white Alberese rock and also contain fossil elements (trace of a remote past where Montalcino was immersed under the seas) and give finesse to the grapes. The long maturation also allows a great balance between tannic, acidulous, aromatic and sugary components. Finally, the sharp thermal excursions between night and day guarantee a further fragrance of perfumes.

Type

Brunello di Montalcino – D.O.C.G.

Grapes

100 % Sangiovese, also called “Grosso” or “Brunello”.

Aging

36 months in 30/60 hl oak barrels

Perfume

Extremely complex and elegant bouquet, composed of fine and very clear sensations, among which we can notice cherry in alcohol, incense, cocoa and sweet tobacco

Taste

Important structure, with tannins well present and firm but smooth and elegant. Great balance offers a long and satisfying retrolfactive

Alcohol

alc. 14.5 % vol

Available Formats

0.75 Lt

Type

Wine Spectator: 90 + pt

Wine Enthusiast: 90 + pt

Jamessukling: 90 + pt

The Wine Advocate: 90+ pt

Gambero Rosso: 3 glasses

AIS: 5 bunches