Luiano Chianti Classico 2013
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Enjoy with roasted and grilled meats and game.
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2016-
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Luiano is an ancient fort, built in the late middle ages, that spans 40 hectares in the Chianti Classico appellation of Tuscany, Italy, just 10 miles south of Florence. Since it was erected, Luiano has belonged to several of the most important, noble families of Florence, renowned for its abilities to produce superb wine.
In 1959 Alberto Palombo, a Neapolitan textile merchant, and his wife Licia, were so enchanted by Luiano and its history that they abandoned the city and purchased the property to carry on its long standing tradition of vine growing and winemaking.
In 1996, Antonio, Alberto’s son, followed suit trading his career in banking for a life in the vineyards. He soon began to restore the vineyards and and the cellar, establishing the property as a modern winery. In 2003, the third generation of the Palombo family joined the family business as well. Together with his children Alessandro and Felicia, Antonio has committed to preserving Luiano’s legacy while ushering in innovations.
Twenty hectares are planted to both native and international grape varietals, predominantly Sangiovese. The vines are positioned at an average altitude of 300 meters above the sea level and benefit from the fertile, mineral-rich soil along the banks of the nearby Greve River. Luiano’s 2nd generation team of viticulturalists, born and raised in the Tuscan countryside as extended members of the Palombo family, possess in-depth knowledge of these vineyard sites gained from working alongside their parents and care for the vineyards as though they were their own.
The wines are produced in accordance with the traditions and regulations of the Chianti Classico DOCG.
Among Italy's elite red grape varieties, Sangiovese has the perfect intersection of bright red fruit and savory earthiness and is responsible for the best red wines of Tuscany. While it is best known as the chief component of Chianti, it is also the main grape in Vino Nobile di Montepulciano and reaches the height of its power and intensity in the complex, long-lived Brunello di Montalcino. Somm Secret—Sangiovese doubles under the alias, Nielluccio, on the French island of Corsica where it produces distinctly floral and refreshing reds and rosés.
One of the first wine regions anywhere to be officially recognized and delimited, Chianti Classico is today what was originally defined simply as Chianti. Already identified by the early 18th century as a superior zone, the official name of Chianti was proclaimed upon the area surrounding the townships of Castellina, Radda and Gaiole, just north of Siena, by Cosimo III, Grand Duke of Tuscany in an official decree in 1716.
However, by the 1930s the Italian government had appended this historic zone with additonal land in order to capitalize on the Chianti name. It wasn’t until 1996 that Chianti Classico became autonomous once again when the government granted a separate DOCG (Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita) to its borders. Ever since, Chianti Classico considers itself no longer a subzone of Chianti.
Many Classicos are today made of 100% Sangiovese but can include up to 20% of other approved varieties grown within the Classico borders. The best Classicos will have a bright acidity, supple tannins and be full-bodied with plenty of ripe fruit (plums, black cherry, blackberry). Also common among the best Classicos are expressive notes of cedar, dried herbs, fennel, balsamic or tobacco.