Tenuta Sette Ponti’s first release was the 1998 vintage Crognolo, named after a wild bush, Cornus, which grows on the estate. The blend of Sangiovese and Merlot from vines of an average age of 25 to 35 years yields a refined, elegantly stylish wine of fruit forward lushness. The wine’s dense color suggests a concentration confirmed on the palate along with sweet ripe flavors of wild cherries, black fruit, leather and vanilla also evident in the aromas. The wine is firmly structured yet elegant, with good tannic support and well-integrated oak notes, leaving an overall impression of harmony, balance and length.

Tasting notes

This refined, stylish blend of Sangiovese and Merlot combines fruit lushness and concentration with a palate of ripe wild cherries, black fruit, leather and vanilla repeated in the aromas. Firm, elegant tannins and integrated oak end in a balanced finish.

Wine maker notes

A green harvest in May reduces clusters to one or two per stock. At harvest the clusters are handpicked, sorted, destemmed, and the skins broken rather than crushed. Fermentation with selected yeasts takes place in a combination of temperature controlled stainless steel and lined open-top fermentors. A maceration period of 20 days including fermentation, with pumping over of the juice and manual punching down of the cap, is followed by natural malolactic fermentation in tank. The wine is placed in oak, consisting primarily of 225-liter barriques with some capacity in 500-litre tonneaux, for a period of twelve to eighteen months. A first blending of lots takes place when the wine is placed in barrique; a second at the first racking. Six months in bottle precede release.

Technical notes

GRAPE VARIETIES: 90% Sangiovese 10% Merlot ALCOHOL CONTENT: 13% YIELD: 50 hl/ha (225 cases/acre) TOTAL ACIDITY: 5.6 grams/liter pH: 3.5