# Gigino 80 Anniversario (2022)

- **Producer:** Barbanera
- **Colour:** red
- **Type:** still
- **Grapes:** Sangiovese, Merlot, Syrah, Petit Verdot
- **Region:** Toscana, Italy
- **Style:** Classic
- **Alcohol:** 14.5%
- **Average price:** €16
- **Vegan:** Yes
- **Contains sulphites:** Yes
- **When to drink:** Now or Later
- **Serving temperature:** 16–18 °C
- **Aromas & flavours:** cherry, plum, blackberry, blueberry, vanilla, chocolate, toast, leather, tobacco

## About this wine

Gigino is a modern-style Super Tuscan blend produced by the Barbanera estate in Cetona, Siena. The wine is named after Luigi 'Gigino' Barbanera, the son of the winery's founders, Altero Barbanera and Maria Franceschini, who established the estate in 1938. Created by Luigi's sons, Marco and Paolo, this cuvée serves as a liquid tribute to celebrate their father's memory and the estate's 80-year milestone. The Barbanera family, now in its third and fourth generations, focuses on merging historical Tuscan traditions with modern winemaking techniques to create rich, accessible, and highly polished wines.

## Interesting facts

- Gigino is the loving family nickname of Luigi Barbanera, whose children created this wine as a tribute to his memory.
- The label features '1938-2018' to celebrate the winery's 80th anniversary, though the actual vintage is printed on the back.
- Consistently receives near-perfect 99/99 scores from Italian wine critic Luca Maroni.

## Food pairing

The wine's plush, off-dry sweetness and full body require rich, savory dishes with high protein and fat content to balance the structure. The medium-plus acidity cuts through rich sauces, while the soft tannins complement grilled meats without clashing.

## Wine making process

The grapes are manually harvested in the cool morning hours to preserve fresh aromatic precursors. Temperature-controlled fermentation and maceration take place on the skins for approximately 10 days to optimize color extraction and soft tannins. Malolactic fermentation is fully completed in stainless steel tanks. The wine is then aged for 4 months in stainless steel on fine lees to build mid-palate roundness, followed by a brief aging period of 2 months in medium-format French oak tonneaux to integrate subtle spice and vanilla notes.