# Riserva Ducale Oro Chianti Classico Gran Selezione (2018)

- **Producer:** Ruffino
- **Colour:** red
- **Type:** still
- **Grapes:** Sangiovese, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon
- **Region:** Toscana, Italy
- **Style:** Classic
- **Alcohol:** 14.5%
- **Average price:** €40
- **Contains sulphites:** Yes
- **When to drink:** Now or Later
- **Serving temperature:** 16–18 °C
- **Aromas & flavours:** cherry, plum, violet, eucalyptus, black pepper, chocolate, tobacco, mushroom, cedar

## About this wine

Ruffino was founded in 1877 in Pontassieve, Tuscany. In 1890, the Duke of Aosta visited the winery and appointed Ruffino as an official supplier to the Italian Royal House. To honor this royal patronage, Ruffino created Riserva Ducale in 1927. Following the legendary 1947 harvest, Ruffino released an ultra-selective gold-labeled bottling named Riserva Ducale Oro. Decades before the Chianti Classico Consortium created the official Gran Selezione classification tier in 2014, Riserva Ducale Oro established the benchmark for single-estate, long-aged Tuscan Sangiovese. Today, grapes are sourced exclusively from the Gretole and Santedame estates in Castellina in Chianti.

## Interesting facts

- In 1890, the Duke of Aosta appointed Ruffino as an official supplier to the Italian Royal House.
- Riserva Ducale Oro was created after the 1947 harvest, long before the Gran Selezione tier was created in 2014.
- One out of every three bottles of Chianti Classico Gran Selezione consumed worldwide is Riserva Ducale Oro.

## Food pairing

The high tannin density and lively acidity require rich proteins and savory fats to bind the tannins and soften the palate, while the acidity cuts cleanly through rich meats and cheeses.

## Wine making process

Hand-harvested grapes undergo parcel-by-parcel vinification. Fermentation and maceration occur in temperature-controlled stainless-steel vats at 27-28°C for 21 days with racking and délestage. Malolactic fermentation takes place in concrete vats. The wine undergoes a required 36-month aging process: 12 months in concrete, 12 months in second-use oak barriques, and 12 months in large Slavonian oak casks (botti grandi), followed by extended bottle maturation before release.