A fresh, aproachable style of Chianti Classico with vibrant, juicy red fruit. Villa la Pagliaia lies in the south of the Chianti Classico zone, adjacent to sister property San Felice.

Aromas of ripe plum and cherry with spicy, savoury notes. This is a fruit-forward style of Chianti - the palate is bright and sappy, with redcurrant and bramble fruit providing fresh acidity, and supple tannins giving structure. A juicy finish with a touch of black pepper.

This long established estate in the south of Chianti Classico consistently produces very classic and quietly impressive wines. The vineyards are all mature (25 years plus), relatively high altitude and very well sited. Low yields are very much the order of the day and vinification is traditional and very conducive to emphasising classic Sangiovese flavours and the terroir of the region around Berardenga.

The grapes come only from their own 350-400m altitude vineyards in the Chianti Classico zone, near Castelnuovo Berardenga (Siena) and are hand-picked and machine harvested, depending on the site. The vines are on average 25 years old - yielding about 1.5kg of fruit per vine - 'guyot' trained and planted in pliocene soil with 25% rocky clay.

Fermentation and maceration on the skins lasts for 8 - 10 days (at 28 to 30 degrees Centigrade) to extract the required amount of fruit, colour and tannins. This is followed by malolactic fermentation in stainless steel vats. The wine is matured in Slavonian oak casks for 10 to 12 months.

A good match for spicy pasta dishes, sausages and red meat.