Felsina Vin Santo 2008

Cellar for up to 9 years. Serve slightly chilled.

Vin Santo is Tuscany’s traditional dessert wine whose origins can be traced back to the ancient Greeks and Romans. This seductively sweet example comes from Felsina, a top Tuscan estate in Castelnuovo Berardenga at the southernmost tip of the Chianti Classico appellation. In keeping with tradition, their Vin Santo is made with grapes with have been left to dry out and turn into raisins over the winter months.

These dried grapes produces a complex, intensely-flavoured sweet wine that exudes enticing notes of honeysuckle, caramel, peaches and brioche. On the palate there are tropical fruit flavours like mango and lychee along with hints of honey and roasted almonds. The drying process has the effect of both concentrating the flavours and aromas in the grape skins and increasing the sugar content to create a richly sweet wine.

The sweetness of Vin Santo makes it an ideal partner for cantucci, the almond biscuits which are traditionally paired with the wine in Tuscany. It also makes a great match for nut-based desserts, tropical fruit cheesecakes, and piquant blue cheeses which provide a perfect foil for the sweetness. Due to the intense sweetness in the wine, many people like to serve it on its own as an alternative to dessert.