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The year 980 is the first year where people have found the first observation of wine making at Villa Saletta. A whole history behind a winery, that's why they make their wines completely traditional. Since 2000, the winery has been in the hands of Guy and Julia Hands.

Only perfect berries are used, using small new barrels of Allier French oak with integral fermentation. Perle barrels are also used that create a 'redox atmosphere'. This reduces the amount of oxygen the grapes are exposed to, so that the first drops of wine develop slowly on the skin. This retains the freshness and aroma while extracting color and roundness for an elegant and smooth soft tannin structure.

With all wines, the must has a complete malolactic fermentation in new French oak barrels. This converts the sharp acids into softer, more buttery flavors. One is one of the few Italian companies that does this full (and expensive) mallolactic fermentation on new oak and is a technique that is more associated with the (top) bordeaux wines.

The story for the Villa Saletta Chiave di Saletta starts with delicate vineyard work: leaf removal, crop thinning and manual selection of branches. The goal of Villa Saletta is to create a wine full of racial personality. The Chiave is a blend of Sangiovese (50%), Cabernet Franc (20%), Cabernet Sauvignon (20%), Merlot (10%) - so a true Super Tuscan. The varieties are fermented individually and aged for 14 months, of which 40% in new, 30% in one-year-old and 30% in two-year-old barrels. After maturing, the different types are carefully blended to create a fresh and fragrant wine with full colors and smooth, elegant textures and tannins. After bottling, the wine is given a considerable period of bottle aging before we can enjoy it

The nose of the Chiave di Saletta is intensely red in color and shows powerful and penetrating notes of berries and dark chocolate. Balsamic nuts and spicy sensations are attributed to the oak barrels. The taste is smooth and has soft, velvety tannins. This is an elegant wine with a fine length and persistence, and an aftertaste and aftertaste that are reminiscent of mint, tobacco and chocolate.

92/100 James Suckling