I SODI DI S. NICCOLÒ WEARS A TUXEDO TO CELEBRATE ITS 40 HARVESTS

40 harvests, 40 years of history. It was 1977 when I Sodi di S. Niccolò, the Supertuscan from Castellare di Castellina made from Sangioveto and Black Malvasia grapes, two indigenous varieties of Chianti Classico, was bottled for the first time.

I Sodi di S.Niccolò 2017_40 Vendemmia_Since then, 40 harvests have followed and today, with the 2017 vintage, the top wine from Castellare celebrates this important anniversary by wearing a special dress. The iconic bird, which has always been present on the wine labels of company, symbol of the daily commitment to sustainable viticulture, rests for the first time on an elegant black background on which the number 40 appears in red. A refined label that pays homage to a wine that has marked the history of Italian enology.

From the first harvest to today (only the 1978 vintage was not bottled) I Sodi di S. Niccolò has collected increasingly important awards. It was the first Italian wine included in the Top 100 of 1988 (the first one) by Wine Spectator with the 1985 vintage; same award in 1989 with the 1986 vintage. Moreover, recently, it has conquered twice, first with the 2013 vintage and then again with the 2016, the title of first ranked Italian wine by adding the scores of the Italian and foreign critic. The 2016 vintage of I Sodi di S. Niccolò got, in fact, a total of 960 points (98 from Antonio Galloni, 96+ from Robert Parker, 96 from Wine Spectator, 95 from James Suckling plus the scores of the top five Italian guides), followed by Solaia with 958.5 points and Sassicaia with 956.




I Sodi di S.Niccolò 2017_40 Vendemmia 2 Not everyone knows that the great Luigi Veronelli baptized this wine. “With Gigi” says Paolo Panerai, journalist, publisher and owner of Castellare di Castellina “one day we were coming down from the Castellare di Castellina cellar towards the most beautiful vineyard on the property. The one that the old sharecroppers had baptized vineyard “dei sodi” due to the particularly hard soil rich in stones: the best one for making wine. On the right hand of the descent there is the Church of S. Niccolò from 1300, surrounded by another vineyard with the same type of soil that the sharecroppers had baptized in the name of the Saint. He stopped and said to me: ‘Paolo, here is the name for that extraordinary wine you made me taste: call it I Sodi di S. Niccolò”..

Luigi Veronelli Luigi Veronelli had tasted the first vintage, that of 1977. Since then 40 harvests have followed which have consolidated the success of this Gran Cru over the years.





“The 2017 vintage – explains Alessandro Cellai, oenologist of all 4 companies of the Domini Castellare di Castellina group – adds to the structural characteristics of I Sodi di S. Niccolò, a great freshness and longevity: the wine immediately presents itself with great structure, both on nose and palate, and it has a marked acidity that makes it long and persistent, suitable for a very long aging wine, ideal for celebrating 40 Harvests”.



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