Antinori Castello della Sala Nibbio della Sala Magnum 2019

This wine is in magnum format. 

Castello della Salla is one of the Antinori family's most renowned sites, a white wine-focused domaine based near Orvieto in the Umbria region. 2019 represents the first vintage of this wine, and they've clearly hit the ground running. This wine benefits from the uniquely cool microclimate and mineral-rich soils of its vineyards, creating a Chardonnay of impressive freshness, elegance, and complexity. Ready to evolve beautifully with time, this vibrant Chardonnay is a true testament to the nonpareil winemaking at Castello della Sala. 

97/100 - Nibbio is a vineyard at the northern end of Antinori's Castello della Sala estate. Now, it is bottled for the first time as the Umbrian estate's flagship wine, positioned above Cervaro della Sala and costing €200 ex-cellar. A Chardonnay fermented and aged in oak for 12 months, it offers a sleek, restrained minerality with wild fennel and grapefruit aromas, and a bracing palate of polished phenolics and silky, textured yet vibrant weight. A really great white wine from the centre of Italy, it's made in a Burgundian style and chiselled to perfection. The 2019 vintage produced 5,800 bottles. - Aldo Fiordelli, Decanter 

96/100 - This is the inaugural vintage of Marchesi Antinori's latest passion project. With only 5,790 bottles produced, the 2019 Nibbio della Sala is Chardonnay selected from a special vineyard located at a breezy 520 meters above sea level on the Castello della Sala property in Umbria. The site has cool northeastern exposures and thick forests at the lower elevations for temperature insulation. Since Antinori acquired the celebrated Friuli winery Jermann in 2021, the team has dedicated much time and energy to its white wine program.

Freshness is in fact the first thing you notice, as is the bandwidth and importance of the mouthfeel. There are many little accents like dried mint, sea salt, crushed mineral, saffron, spice and campfire ash that give lift to a core of creamy peach and melon. The wine remains long on the palate, with smooth softness and volume. - Monica Larner, Wine Advocate

93/100 - The 2019 Nibbio is elegant yet youthfully poised, impressing with its beguiling bouquet that blends dusty stone with hints of peach skin, lemon oil and white smoke. It flows across the palate, juicy yet refined, with depths of ripe apple and hints of lime, as saline mineral tones mount toward the close. It finishes with tremendous length and concentration, lightly structured and crunchy, leaving a sour citrus density that both pinches at the cheeks and keeps the mouth watering for more. This is a fantastic debut of the Nibbio, a varietal Chardonnay from vines planted in 2015 at 500 meters of elevation. The potential of this site is very high. - Eric Guido, Vinous