Chianti Superiore
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Chianti Superiore is an Italian DOCG wine produced in the provinces of Arezzo, Florence, Pisa, Pistoia, Prato and Siena, in Tuscany. Superiore is a specification for wines produced with a stricter rule of production than other Chianti wines.
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[edit] Origins
Chianti Superiore has been authorized since 1996.[1] In 2004 there were still only 16 producers listed in the Chianti Superiore register among over 5000 Chianti producers in total.
[edit] Disciplinare (law of production)
Chianti Superiore wines can be produced only from grapes cultivated in the Chianti wine areas except from those vineyards that are registered in the Chianti Classico sub-zone.
Vineyards registered in Chianti sub-zones[2] other than Classico can produce Chianti Superiore wines but must omit the sub-zone name on the label.
Chianti Superiore wines must be produced with the following grapes:
- Sangiovese: min. 75%
- Canaiolo Nero: max. 10%
- Trebbiano Toscano and Malvasia del Chianti: max. 10%
- Other authorized red grapes: max. 20%
| Comparative table of Chianti laws of production[3] | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| normal | Classico | Colli Aretini | Colli Fiorentini | Colli Senesi | Colline Pisane | Montalbano | Montespertoli | Rùfina | Superiore | |
| Max. grape prod. (t/ha) | 9.0 | 7.5 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 7,5 |
| Max. grape prod. (kg/vine) | 4.0 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4,0 | 2,2 |
| Min. vines/ha | 3,300 | 3,350 | 3,300 | 3,300 | 3,300 | 3,300 | 3,300 | 3,300 | 3,300 | 4'000 |
| Min. age of vineyards (years) | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Min. wine dry extract (g/l) | 19 | 23 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 22 |
| Min. alcohol cont. (%) | 11.5 | 12.0 | 11.5 | 12.0 | 11.5 | 11.5 | 11.5 | 12.0 | 12.,0 | 12.0 |
| Min. ageing (months) | 3 | 10 | 3 | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 9 |
Ageing is calculated from January 1 after the picking. Chianti Superiore cannot be sold to the consumer before nine months of ageing, of which three must be in the bottle. Therefore it cannot be bottled before the June after picking or sold to consumers before the next September.
[edit] Why "Chianti Superiore"?
The Chianti production area is vast and includes many microclimates and terroirs. Differences between Chianti wines can be so huge that in 1932 the production area was divided in 7 sub-zones.[4] This system has a positive effect: to inform the consumer which kind of wine he will probably find in the bottle he is going to purchase. Long ago, Bordeaux wines had adopted this system.
Outside of Tuscany few people are aware of the differences in characteristics of the wines of the various sub-zones. This has caused confusion even in the meaning of the sub-zones. Sub-zones are only expressions of the different terroirs but are often construed by consumers as different quality levels. A group of producers in the 1980s disputed the designation of the sub-zones, especially Colli Fiorentini and Classico. They claimed that those two areas were too big and there were too many differences in terroir inside each one of them.
In 1996, a new disciplinare (law of production) of Chianti, that allows the possibility of producing a superior variety of Chianti, omitting the name of the sub-zone, was approved. The idea was to fulfil the expectation of those consumers who wanted to understand from the label the quality level of a wine, not wanting (or not being able to) know the difference between all the micro-climates and terroirs of Chianti.
At the same time, the Classico sub-zone got a separate, new disciplinare, connected to the other Chianti laws of production (it’s the same DOCG) but approved separately. This new law of production of Classico doesn’t mention the possibility of producing a superior quality. Therefore vineyards listed in the Classico register are not allowed to produce Chianti Superiore.
[edit] Production
| 2004 production[5] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Chianti Superiore | Other Chianti | % Ch. Superiore | |
| Registered vineyards (ha]]) | 297.98 | 25,333.67 | 1.18 % |
| Grape production (t) | 1,808.51 | 184,023.10 | 0.98 % |
| Wine production (l) | 1,166,169 | 106,124,871 | 1.09 % |
[edit] References
- ^ D.M. 5.08.1996
- ^ Colli Aretini, Colli Fiorentini, Colli Senesi, Colline Pisane, Montalbano, Montespertoli and Rùfina
- ^ Unione Italiana Vini
- ^ Classico, Colli Aretini, Colli Fiorentini, Colli Senesi, Colline Pisane, Montalbano and Rùfina; in 1996 part of the Colli Fiorentini sub-zone was re-named Montespertoli.
- ^ Unione Italiana Vini
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- (Italian) Chianti Official Site
