Colmano, Riserva, Vin Santo del Chianti 2000 (13.5%)

@ColmanoAziendaAgricola

A distinguished vin santo makes it into our Best in Show selection for the second year running – so what might you look forward to if you aren’t familiar with this style? The wine is a light, translucent russet brown in colour (old red wines lighten with time, but white wines of this sort deepen as the years pass). The aromas evoke old libraries and old furniture, but with a falling crystalline sweetness of scent that is hard to resist. On the palate, this vin santo is intense, vibrantly acidic and with remarkable aromatic focus: almost bracing, despite its extravagant sweetness. Look out for lingering flavours of fig, dried fruit (including apple), fresh grapes, caramel and toasted almond in this impressively concentrated wine.

‘It’s taken three different generations and more than 20 years to get the job done,’ says 27-yearold Giovanni Masi of his victorious wine, of which he managed to eke out 1,000 bottles.

Giovanni is the latest member of his family to find his calling in the cellars of Chianti, and during his studies he undertook internships at Avignonesi and Tenuta San Guido, makers of Sassicaia. ‘My grandfather Antonio acquired the original 5ha of vineyards, then in 1998 my father stepped in and expanded our land,’ he says. ‘Our philosophy is to make wines in the vineyards, get the best grapes, and do less in the winery; we must respect the natural evolution of our wines.

‘Our vin santo is a blend of Trebbiano (60%) and Malvasia (40%). These are the two traditional grapes of vin santo because while drying they gain complexity but also maintain freshness.

‘We’ve been able to achieve this level of quality thanks to the perfect conditions we enjoyed in 2000 – dry, warm and no humidity. This gave us the ideal concentrations of sugar and flavours, which have been enhanced through a slow ageing process of 18 years in French oak barriques.’