Podere Il Balzo Chianti Rufina 2020

Profile & Story

Podere Il Balzo is Paolo Ponticelli's small estate in Chianti Rufina, on Via del Poggiolo in Rufina (Florence). The roughly 7 hectares of vineyard sit at 300-400 meters on clay, calcareous soil with a large share of rock and stone, replanted almost entirely between 1999 and today at an average density of 4,800 plants per hectare. This Chianti Rufina Annata is a blend of 90% Sangiovese with 10% Canaiolo, Colorino, and Malvasia Rossa. Grapes are hand-selected at harvest in October; vinification is traditional, with about 20 days of skin maceration and three daily pump-overs in temperature-controlled steel tanks, followed by roughly 18 months of aging in cement and barriques and a further six months in bottle. Alcohol runs about 13.5%, with production in the range of 10,000-15,000 bottles a year.