vintage description

Mild temperatures in April led to early bud break. Favorable weather conditions in May further accelerated the development of the vegetation but a dry period in June slowed down shoot and grape growth. After a humid July, a warm August followed with many hours of sunshine. After several rainy days at the beginning of harvest, the autumn weather developed favorably with considerable fluctuations in temperature.  The grapes profited from a long phase of vegetative growth and were in good health, though berry size was somewhat smaller than average. The white wines are very well balanced, with beautiful fruit, fine acidity and juicy freshness. Charming elegance and pleasant tannin structure characterize the red wines.

winemaking

The grapes are harvested by hand into small bins, with careful attention to every berry, and gently pressed after a short period of maceration. After destemming and compaction, a short period of maceration at low temperature follows, then gentle pressing. Fermentation takes place slowly, for more than 4 weeks at a controlled temperature of 18°C, before it is stopped by cooling to 5°C for 10 days. The wine is then transferred into small stainless-steel tanks.

MATURATION
Maturation takes place in small steel tanks with constant contact with the lees for 8 months, whereas must is clarified through natural sedimentation of the particles. After bottling, the wine is carried to the Ridanna Monteneve mine, at over 2,000 m in altitude. Here, the wine ages in the dark for nearly 6 years, 4 km deep in the mine, in an environment that maintains constant 90% humidity and a temperature of 11°C all year long, with the air pressure the same as outdoors.