2017 Cervaro della Sala
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Tasting notes
90% Chardonnay, 10% Grechetto. Chardonnay aged for five months in old oak before blending with the (unoaked) Grechetto. Nutty, matchstick nose. Lemon cake, slate, floral jasmine note. Has the poise and fragrance of great Côte de Beaune or Victoria, but a hotter finish. Long and saline. (RH)
Critic scores
Average Score
Richard Hemming MW, jancisrobinson.com
Jancis Robinson MW
More reviews and scores
Thanks to the warm conditions of the vintage, the 2017 Cervaro della Sala takes us back to a time when this wine was denser, more extracted and packed with glycerin-rich fruit flavors like apricot and peach. Of course, the Antinori family has since moved beyond that style, most notably by tweaking the oak regime used on this wine. But the thickness and richness of the fruit in this dry and hot vintage takes us back in time with a hint of sweet nostalgia. This wine is fresh and spicy with stone fruit, mature apricot, honey, saffron and toasted almond. In a normal vintage, some 220,000 bottles are made, but production was lower in the 2017 vintage, resulting in 170,000 bottles instead.
This is big and powerful, without being ripe and heavy. So much apple, stone, and hints of toffee. Aromatic. Full-bodied, layered and framed with phenolic tension and a great finish. Muscular and agile at the same time. One of the best I have tasted. Drink or hold.
About the producer
Marchesi Antinori is a leading Italian producer, historically based in Tuscany, who rose to fame after creating Tignanello – one of the first Super Tuscans . Combining tradition and innovation to craft fine wine, the family-owned firm has been a force in the Italian wine industry for over 600 years.