MARCHESI ANTINORI Castello della Sala 'Nibbio della Sala' - Umbria IGT 2019 Bottle

Description

Nibbio della Sala 2019, the inaugural flagship Chardonnay from Castello della Sala, impresses with its striking elegance, earning 99 points from James Suckling. It features a captivating bouquet of flint stones, white apricots, green pears, and hazelnuts, delivering a full-bodied yet refined experience with bright acidity. Decanter highlights its sleek minerality alongside notes of wild fennel and grapefruit, while The Wine Advocate praises its cool northeastern exposure and the meticulous selection from a special vineyard. With a limited production of just 5,790 bottles, Vinous describes the wine as juicy yet refined, showcasing flavours of ripe apple and lime with saline mineral tones. This exceptional debut vintage promises great ageing potential, making it a remarkable choice for enthusiasts from 2024 to 2029.

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MARCHESI ANTINORI
Marchesi Antinori is a historic Italian wine producer founded in 1385, making it one of the oldest wineries in Italy. Based in Tuscany, the Antinori family has dedicated itself to quality winemaking for over six centuries, operating several estates in renowned regions, including Chianti Classico and Bolgheri. The winery is famous for its iconic Super Tuscan wines, such as Tignanello and Solaia, which blend traditional Sangiovese with international varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Marchesi Antinori champions sustainable agriculture and environmentally friendly practices, reflecting the unique terroir of its vineyards. With a reputation for excellence and innovation, Marchesi Antinori remains a leading figure in the global wine industry, appealing to both enthusiasts and collectors alike.

CASTELLO DELLA SALA
Castello della Sala is a magnificent medieval manor located in Umbria, a short distance from the Tuscan border. The region is exceptional for producing white varieties that have found ideal conditions in this terroir to best express its full potential. Each wine produced in Castello della Sala is a contemporary expression of this ancient land. The role of malolactic fermentation is central to Nibbio della Sala. Most of the Chardonnay does complete its second fermentation to convert malic into lactic acid, thus creating smoothness and textural creaminess. However, a portion of the Chardonnay does not complete malolactic fermentation, and that element is key to creating the final blend. The percentage of tart fruit flavors can be adjusted according to vintage. In a sense, that element is comparable to the sharper element of Grechetto blended with softer Chardonnay in the Castello della Sala.

Freshness is in fact the first thing you notice, as is the bandwidth and importance of the mouthfeel. There are many little accents like dried mint, sea salt, crushed mineral, saffron, spice and campfire ash that give lift to a core of creamy peach and melon. The wine remains long on the palate, with smooth softness and volume.

JAMES SUCKLING 99 Points
This is so vibrant and elegant with flint stones, white apricots, green pears, hazelnuts, lemons, green tea and some toast on the nose. Full-bodied, yet elegant and refined, with bright acidity. Vertical in nature. Long. Keeps going. New single-vineyard chardonnay from the Castello della Sala estate, which makes Cervaro della Sala. Even better in a couple of years.

DECANTER 97 points
Tasted by: Aldo Fiordelli
(at Hotel Villa Diodoro, Taormina, Invalid DateTime)
Drinking Window: 2023 - 2029
Nibbio is a vineyard at the northern end of Antinori's Castello della Sala estate. Now, it is bottled for the first time as the Umbrian estate's flagship wine, positioned above Cervaro della Sala and costing €200 ex-cellar. A Chardonnay fermented and aged in oak for 12 months, it offers a sleek, restrained minerality with wild fennel and grapefruit aromas, and a bracing palate of polished phenolics and silky, textured yet vibrant weight. A really great white wine from the centre of Italy, it's made in a Burgundian style and chiselled to perfection. The 2019 vintage produced 5,800 bottles.

THE WINE ADVOCATE 96 Points
Drink Date: 2024 - 2035
This is the inaugural vintage of Marchesi Antinori's latest passion project. With only 5,790 bottles produced, the 2019 Nibbio della Sala is Chardonnay selected from a special vineyard located at a breezy 520 meters above sea level on the Castello della Sala property in Umbria. The site has cool northeastern exposures and thick forests at the lower elevations for temperature insulation. Since Antinori acquired the celebrated Friuli winery Jermann in 2021, the team has dedicated much time and energy to its white wine program. - Monica Larner.

VINOUS 93 points
Drinking Window 2024 - 2029
From: Tipping the Scales: New Releases from Umbria (Oct 2023)
The 2019 Nibbio is elegant yet youthfully poised, impressing with its beguiling bouquet that blends dusty stone with hints of peach skin, lemon oil and white smoke. It flows across the palate, juicy yet refined, with depths of ripe apple and hints of lime, as saline mineral tones mount toward the close. It finishes with tremendous length and concentration, lightly structured and crunchy, leaving a sour citrus density that both pinches at the cheeks and keeps the mouth watering for more. This is a fantastic debut of the Nibbio, a varietal Chardonnay from vines planted in 2015 at 500 meters of elevation. The potential of this site is very high. - By Eric Guido on July 2023