Selection

Fruitcake, cedar, cocoa and dried lavender define the bouquet. The palate is broad, fleshy, succulent, soft, rounded and silky, with spice, rich dark fruitcake and a lingering dry tail. Whole berries are double-sorted, then fermented dry on the skins and given extended post-fermentation maceration. Fermentation uses French oak and stainless steel, followed by malolactic fermentation and twenty months in French oak barrels, thirty percent new.

Warm fruit and pepper accompany a light, juicy profile with restrained tannins. Nebbiolo comes mainly from La Morra and Levice, with smaller portions from Vicoforte and Monticello d’Alba. Alcoholic fermentation occurs mostly in concrete for about ten to twelve days. Malolactic fermentation uses concrete or stainless steel, followed by several months of ageing in concrete, steel and plastic before bottling.

Barbera grows in heavy clay over limestone under certified biodynamic farming. Maceration lasts one month. Fermentation and twelve months of ageing take place in botti, and the wine is bottled without fining or filtration. Sulphur use varies with the sanitary condition of the grapes; some years receive none, while other years see a small addition at harvest or bottling.

Montepulciano forms the entire wine. The dry, still red comes from a three-hectare vineyard yielding twenty-five quintals per hectare. Fermentation uses no selected yeast, and the wine is unfiltered. Dark fruit includes prune, raisin, damson and blackberry, with spice and vanilla. Twenty days on skins include délestage; malolactic fermentation takes place in tonneaux, and the wine returns to tonneaux after racking. Alcohol is fourteen percent.

Mavrodafni comes from fifty-year-old, rain-fed vineyards in Santomeri, Achaia. The vineyards are farmed organically and biodynamically on clay-loam soil with schistose rock. Indigenous yeasts carry out fermentation, and maturation takes place in old oak barrels. The wine is bottled without filtration. Vivid ruby colour accompanies cherry and strawberry jam, earthy and animal notes, a velvety texture and spice. Production totalled 2,200 bottles.

Grenache forms ninety percent of the blend, with five percent Mourvèdre and five percent Syrah. Three quarters of the fruit is not destemmed. Maturation includes ten months in one- and two-vintage Allier and Tronçais barrels, plus twelve months in foudre. Bottling occurs without fining or filtration. Black raspberry, sandalwood, ground pepper, dried herbs, dark cherry and cassis are present with fine, firm tannins and a long, spicy finish.