Tresette 2018 Merlot Toscana IGT - Riecine

TreSette 2018 – Riecine

Riecine is a historic estate in Gaiole in Chianti, founded in the 1970s by Englishman John Dunkley and now certified organic. TreSette is its Merlot, first made in 2016: the name plays on tressette, the Italian card game, and on the 7-hectolitre tonneaux in which the wine ages.

The grapes come from vines about 45 years old at 450 to 500 metres, on limestone and clay: a high-altitude Merlot, which is rare. After a double sorting, destemmed but uncrushed bunches ferment in French oak conical vats; the wine then spends 20 months in three 700-litre tonneaux, followed by a few months in unlined concrete and in bottle.

2018, a cool, even vintage in Chianti Classico, produced a Merlot that is more taut than opulent: plum, blackberry, cherry, cocoa, spice and a lovely freshness that sets it apart from coastal Merlots. With fillet steak, duck or porcini mushrooms.

At a glance: Merlot 100% · 14.5% ABV · 0.75 l · Riecine, Gaiole in Chianti (SI)