Elba DOC Red Reserve

Colour: from an intense ruby red to garnet red
Bouquet: Intense and complex scent with a hint of spicy wood
Taste: dry, harmonious, full bodied
Minimum alcohol content: 12,5%
Minimum total acidity:  4,5 g/l
Minimum net dry extract:  24 g/l
Best served with: First courses with red meat sauces, grilled meats and roasts, mature cheeses. Excellent if drunk with game like wild boar.
Temperature best served at: 18° C

As the techniques and methods of wine producing improved, the producers from Elba thought it wastime to brong out an Elba Rosso red wine that had to be however more classy but above all was nearer to the international taste buds than the more structured and mature wines. 

The main ingredient of the Elba Rosso Riserva DOC are the Sangiovese grapes (60%), to which other red berry grapes, perfect for being grown in the region of Tuscany, are added, up to a maximum of 40%  with the type of wine grapes being registered by law in the National Register that was passed in the Ministerial Decree of May 7th 2004 and with all the susequent amendments.

The vineyards are of a spurred cordon shape with a minimum of 4000 plants per hectare and a maximum production 80 q.li of grapes per hectare.

The grapes are first crushed and de-stemmed, and the must that comes out is left to ferment along with the skins for approximately 7 days, after which the wine is racked and the skins pressed. At this point is left to rest and settle in wooden or steel barrels until it is ready for bottling. 

In order for the the wine to be classed as "Reserve" it must be left to mature for more than 24 months, and at least 12 of these in wooden barrels. The maturing period starts from November 1st dating from the year of production of the grapes.