Cignale Colle Della Toscana Centrale IGT: 90% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Merlot. This extract-loaded wine expresses the power, concentration and longevity of its terroir to the fullest, fine-tuned by carefully orchestrated vinification and élevage. For the Cabernet Sauvignon, the harvest takes place towards the end of October. The Merlot is picked in early to mid-October. The grapes are collected in small boxes and transported to the winery for immediate de-stemming and pressing. Only 65% of the free-run juice is used, and parts of the press-run are then blended back into the mass. Fermentation takes approximately 21 days. The resulting wine goes through full malolactic and is racked 6 times over the first 12 months. New and 12-month-old French barriques are employed, where Cignale ages for approximately 18-24 months. Altogether, the wine is not released until three to four years from harvest date. Quantities are minuscule, and cellar life is up to twenty years. Cignale has offered consistent quality from vintage to vintage, and met with correspondingly unbroken success. Deep, dark ruby in color; spicy bouquet of cedar wood, black cherry, wild strawberry, black currant, and subtle notes of well integrated new oak. On the palate, rich, harmonious, concentrated, powerful and intense, beautifully structured, with polished tannins and a long, silky finish.