Avignonesi Cantaloro Toscana IGT

"Cantaloro" is a versatile young red wine with berry and spicy notes, silky tannins, and pleasant acidity. The wine is made from Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Sangiovese grapes, filling it with unique varietal characteristics and an unmistakable expression of terroir. The wine has a storage potential of 5-7 years. Ashley Seymour, the winemaker at Avignonesi, noted that "Cantaloro" embodies the magnificent terroir of many vineyards scattered across the regions of Montepulciano and Cortona. At the same time, the wine is created in the characteristic style of Avignonesi. The drink is very elegant, clean, complex, and tasty. The grapes for "Cantaloro" are grown on three vineyards: "I Pogetti," "La Lombarda," and "La Selva," located in southern Tuscany between Montepulciano and Cortona at an altitude of 270-330 meters above sea level. The age of the vines ranges from 10 to 40 years, and the soils are mainly alkaline, with layers of clay, sand, and silt. Each grape variety is harvested at different times, when the berries reach full ripeness. In 2012, the first to ripen was Merlot — in mid-September, followed by Sangiovese — in the second half of September, and Cabernet Sauvignon was harvested in the first half of October. Vinification included a preliminary maceration on the skins for 2 days at 14°C, gentle pressing, and fermentation on yeast in steel tanks for 10 days at 26-30°C. Malolactic fermentation of the wine was conducted in oak barrels, after which Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot were aged for 5 months in used oak barrels, while Sangiovese was aged in large Slavonian oak barrels for the same period. The finished bottled wine further matured in the winery's cellars for three months. The total production volume was 43,000 bottles.