Rosso Vieilles Vignes 2013

Cette cuvée est issue des collines des Marches, dans l’aire du Rosso Piceno DOC, autour d’Ostra Vetere et de Serra de’ Conti, dans l’arrière-pays d’Ancône. Les parcelles de San Fortunato et San Sebastiano reposent sur des sols calcaires à dominante argileuse, entre influences adriatiques et fraîcheur des reliefs. Les vieilles vignes de Montepulciano et de Sangiovese y donnent un rouge à la fois profond, frais et ancré dans son terroir.

Les raisins sont vendangés à la main au début d’octobre et les parcelles sont vinifiées séparément. La fermentation se déroule en cuves inox, avec une macération pelliculaire d’environ 10 à 12 jours. Le vin est ensuite assemblé puis élevé pendant environ deux ans en grands foudres de chêne, notamment de Slavonie, avant un repos d’au moins six mois en bouteille.

Ce vin dévoile des notes de cerise noire, de prune mûre, de mûre, de framboise sauvage, de violette, de poivre noir, de réglisse, de thym, de café, de cacao, de cuir fin et de champignon. Avec l’évolution, une touche balsamique et légèrement terreuse complète ce bouquet nuancé. La bouche offre une matière souple et soyeuse, soutenue par une acidité fraîche et des tanins polis ; la finale, sèche, persistante et épicée, garde une belle empreinte de fruits noirs.

Ah, Italy, what a beautiful hedonistic country, home of the Dolce Vita, but how hard it is to understand how its wine is organised! The key to understanding Italy's appellation system is to think of it as several small countries rather than a single uniform one, since each region has its own appellation system. Yet Italy can offer wine lovers a multitude of wines with varied and unique flavours and styles, as well as bottles full of surprise and creativity. Unfortunately it also produces a large quantity of soulless, characterless wines sold under their most useful and commercially renowned names: Pinot Grigio, Chianti, Valpolicella, Lambrusco, Prosecco and many others... But let us talk a little history: winegrowing in Italy goes back to the most distant antiquity and originated in Greece. The Etruscans are said to have introduced the vine, and Greek immigrants improved and changed the grape varieties, later calling the country "Oenotria": the land of wine. At the height of the Roman Empire, wine held an important place in daily life, and some regions already stood out for the excellence of their produce. The Romans also planted many vineyards across Europe, leaving an indelible mark of their conquests. Today Italy is the largest wine producer in the world, ahead of France. Italy is divided into three climatic zones. The northern mountains have a fairly harsh mountain climate. The plain in the "middle of the boot" has a continental climate with cold winters and hot, stormy summers. The "south of the boot" enjoys a Mediterranean climate with very hot, very dry summers, not forgetting the islands of Sicily and Sardinia. In short, Italy produces a great variety of wines thanks to its 200 different grape varieties, many of them native to its land. It is a country just as complex as its wines, and well worth exploring!