San Felice Chianti Classico Riserva Il Grigio

Il Grigio owes its name to a splendid idea of the San Felice winery in Castelnuovo Berardenga, the heart of Chianti Classico, which was to dedicate a wine to one of the most famous paintings by Titian, a master of the Venetian school who worked in the Venetian Lagoon throughout the 16th century. A tribute, in short, to our Renaissance, embodied by Titian's Man in Armour (circa 1530), now in the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana in Milan. According to Federico Borromeo, Titian actually painted a portrait of his father, who used to joke that he had become a noble knight thanks to the intellectual aristocracy that his son had, so to speak, bestowed upon him.

A noble wine, then, but also a familiar, warm, and welcoming wine, anything but austere or prickly. A single-variety Sangiovese, the Il Grigio reserve arrives in the glass after two years of ageing in wood, 80% large and 20% barriques. The hardness is guaranteed by the soils, which are composed of the classic Chianti mixture of marl, limestone, clay and skeleton.

In the glass it is a beautiful deep ruby red colour, which heralds the temperament and vigour suggested by Titian's painting. The bouquet is intense and persistent with typical hints of violet and red berries. It is a full-bodied wine, with juicy tannins and fresh acidity. The wood, well dosed, smoothes out the edges giving further spicy sensations and balanced harmony. It pairs perfectly with grilled meats, roast pigeon and beef steak.