Selection

Nebbiolo forms eighty percent of the blend, with Croatina and Vespolina at ten percent each. The Cottignano parcel lies at 350 metres in Masserano, on acidic volcanic porphyritic sand. The organically farmed vines are twenty to fifty years old. Native-yeast fermentation follows destemming and soft crushing, with up to forty days on skins. The blend rests six months in concrete, then two years in an older large oak cask.

Deep crimson with a purple hue, this Barossa Shiraz offers red and black forest berries with French-oak spice. Nearly all berries remain whole, and the wine matures for eighteen months in seasoned French oak barriques. The Steingarten Road Vineyard sits at 280 metres, with thirty-year-old vines on ancient oxidised ferrous soil over limestone. The palate has explosive red berries and velvety soft tannins, with fresh acidity on the finish.

Cabernet Franc from 25- to 30-year-old vines grows on clay-siliceous plateaus. The organically certified fruit is hand harvested after grass cover, debudding and early leaf removal. A 48-hour cold maceration precedes five days of alcoholic fermentation at 20–22°C. Dark ruby colour and fresh red fruit accompany a tender, round and pulpy profile, with discreet tannins and a fresh finish.

Malbec comes from selected stony parcels in Altamira, southern Uco Valley, at about 4,000 feet. Sandy, silty and stony patches occur within the vineyard, while the rockier sections have abundant surface stones and rounded rocks coated with calcium carbonate. The profile includes deep violet-red colour, black fruit, mineral notes, freshness, fruit, acidity and balance. Twelve months in French oak includes twenty percent new barrels.

Hand-harvested Mourvèdre, Cinsault, Syrah and Pinotage were fermented separately, mostly under carbonic conditions, with some open-top semi-carbonic treatment. After eight days, the lots were pressed into neutral French barrels, aged for ten months, blended and bottled unfined and unfiltered with a small sulphur addition. Red and black berries, wild herbs, earth and black pepper appear with tart-fruit acidity and a long finish.

Light cherry-red colour accompanies fruit, floral and spice notes, with peppery and balsamic tones. Freshness, tannin and acidity are present alongside a savoury, juicy palate. Grignolino from a marl-soiled hill with southern exposure at nearly 300 metres spent eight months in stainless steel. Six thousand bottles were produced in Piedmont, and the winery is located in Vignale Monferrato.

Braucol, Duras and Syrah are destemmed and fermented separately in stainless steel. Each variety macerates for five days, with daily pump-overs before pressing into stainless steel. Indigenous yeasts drive a long, slow fermentation at 17°C. The profile includes fruit, spice and pepper. The vineyards are farmed organically with biodynamic practices, and the wine is bottled without filtration.

Blackberry, raspberry and loganberry appear with blackberry-skin tang. Whole clusters underwent partial carbonic maceration and were foot-trodden, with pressing after seven days. Fermentation took place in puncheon and amphora. The wine spent five months in a mix of forty percent amphora, forty percent puncheon and twenty percent third-fill Hungarian oak. The fruit comes from Zillah Vineyard in Washington’s Rattlesnake Hills.