Santedame

Pair Santedame Chianti Classico DOCG with traditional dishes such as roasted chicken with rosemary and portobello mushroom ravioli. It also makes a wonderful accompaniment to international dishes such as tandoori chicken and pork buns.

Santedame Chianti Classico DOCG is an elegant, classically styled Chianti Classico from Ruffino's Santedame Estate. This estate is nestled in the fabled Golden Basin, or Conca d'Oro, where yields are naturally low, and flavors are rich and concentrated. Santedame is an authentic, smooth, and very pleasing estate wine produced in small quantities without compromise—a true expression of the terroir. The Santedame estate is perched amidst Tuscany's splendid rolling hills in the Castellina subregion. One of the estate's unique treasures is the small 15th century Cappella di Santedame (Chapel of the Madonna) which features a magnificent fresco of the Madonna, the inspiration for Santedame's elegant label. The estate is also surrounded by one of Europe's few protected cypress forests.

We use only the finest grapes to produce Santedame Chianti Classico DOCG. The yield of our Santedame vineyard is only two tons per acre, naturally low due to the climate conditions and poor soils. After fermentation, we give the wine another week of contact with the grape skins to extract additional color and flavors, and follow that with malolactic fermentation for additional richness and silky texture. We then age Santedame in oak and stainless steel for eight months.