“Cervaro della Sala” Umbria IGT 2024 · MAGNUM in OWC

Castello della Sala | Antinori | Umbria
Marchesi Antinori S.p.A. | Piazza Antinori 3 | IT 50123 Firenze

10080724 · 1,5 l · 126,00 €/l · Price (DE) incl. VAT, excl. Shipping7 units available
Limitation of 1 articles per customer

The famous Castello della Sala stands on a hill above Orvieto – a medieval stronghold, surrounded by woodland and olive groves, nestled deep in the tranquillity of Umbria. The Marchesi Antinori have owned it for generations; but what made it a wine legend was the first Cervaro della Sala in 1985: a white wine conceived like a red – barrique fermentation, malolactic fermentation, and a long ageing process. Producing a white wine capable of ageing for decades was by no means a matter of course in Italy at that time. But it became one. The vinification follows a principle once formulated by Renzo Cotarella and which still applies today: as little intervention as possible. The Castello's winery relies on gravity – no mechanical pumps, no unnecessary stress on the grapes. The harvest begins in the early hours of the morning, when temperatures are still cool. The Chardonnay macerates on its skins for four hours at 10 degrees, then ferments in barriques and matures with partial malolactic fermentation. The Grechetto remains exclusively in stainless steel – it provides the tension that the Chardonnay alone cannot deliver. In February, the two are blended together.

The 2024 vintage got off to a mild start: good water reserves in the soil, and a slightly cooler spring, which allowed the vegetation to develop at a steady pace. Flowering took place at the end of May, with Grechetto flowering a week later than the Chardonnay. July and August were hot and stable, with marked differences between day and night temperatures – that slow, gradual ripening which makes the white wines from the Castello's higher-altitude vineyards precise and aromatic.harvest took place at the end of August, and the Grechetto in mid-September.

A clear straw-yellow colour with pale green highlights. The bouquet is precise and direct: pink grapefruit, elderflower, camomile, vanilla, pastry cream, and underlying it all, that characteristic hint of flint which sets this vineyard's Chardonnay apart from all others. On the palate, it is taut and elegant – toasted almond, white pepper, ginger, and a salty structure underpinned by a crisp, invigorating freshness. The finish is long and characterised by precise minerality. A Cervaro full of clarity. Aromatically precise, energetic, with an expressive freshness that makes this vintage a delight to drink early – and even more so later on. SUPERIORE.DE

"A typical Cervaro, showing sliced-apple, pineapple, vanilla and crushed-shell aromas and flavors, following through to a medium to full body with lovely density and intensity. Light oiliness and freshness at the end. Elegant and crisp. Drink or hold." James Suckling