Bertinga
Bertinga is relatively new winery founded in 2015, whose first vintage is the 2016 harvest. Bertinga is located in the village of Gaiole which is in the heart of Chianti region. The vineyards were acquired 2015 from the well-known winery Castello di Ama and thus have been producing beautiful fruit for quality wine for years.
Bertinga's focus is on producing terroir-driven "single vineyard" wines and Super Tuscans. The vineyards are 100% organically farmed and overseen by world-renowned winemaker consultant Stephane Derenoncourt. Besides Bertinga, he is also responsible as a consultant for Domaine de Chevalier, Chateau Smith Haut Laffite and Chateau Beauséjour Duffou Lagarrosse, among others. Lucca Vitiello (formerly of Tenuta Fanti in Montalcino) is Bertina's managing director.
In Bertinga's beautiful vineyards, the soil consists mainly of Alberese. This famous Italian soil type is a combination of marl and calcareous slate. This soil produces grapes where ripeness and minerality are well balanced. Two grape varieties are planted within the vineyards, namely Sangiovese and Merlot.
The grapes are hand-picked and then immediately selected on the sorting table. Fermentation takes place in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks. A total of four red wines come from Bertinga's cellar:
- Sassi Chiusi, Bertinga's "entry-level wine" is a blend of 85% Sangiovese and 15% Merlot. This is the only wine whose fruit is a blend of the different vineyards Bertinga owns. After being made in stainless steel vats, the wine is aged for 18 months in concrete tanks.
- Bertinga is a blend of 50% Sangiovese and 50% Merlot from the Bertinga vineyard in Gaiole. The wine is aged for 18 months in 2500L tanks of Austrian oak and in French oak barrels of which only 10% are new barrels.
- Punta di Adine comes from the Adine vineyard (block no 100) and is made from 100% sangiovese. This wine is also aged for 18 months in 2500L tanks of Austrian oak and in barrels of (10% new) French oak.
- Volta di Bertinga is the winery's top cuvee. This wine is made from 100% Merlot and comes from the Bertinga vineyard, specifically block No 10. After vinification in stainless steel vats, the wine matures for 18 months in French oak barrels (30% new wood) in a conditioned cellar.
After bottling, the wines mature for a further 18 months in bottle in the dedicated aging cellar before release. However, if Bertinga finds the wine not yet accessible enough for the market, they sometimes decide to age the wine further in bottle. For example, the 2017 Volta di Bertinga vintage did not reach the market until late 2023.
Production consists of around 55,000 bottles with a small run of magnums and jeroboams in addition. Despite their recent establishment, the winery has already won over a large number of fans. For instance, James Suckling named the winery in the top 100 best wines in the world. In it, he described the 2019 Volta di Bertinga as a masterpiece. In addition, the wines have already managed multiple scores of up to 99 points from international wine journalists. This is a winery that is on its way to the top of the wine world like a rocket!
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