Gaja Pieve Santa Restituta Sugarille 2018

Although the Gaja house is historically Piedmontese, this cuvée comes from its Tuscan estate Pieve Santa Restituta, in Montalcino, within the Brunello di Montalcino DOCG. Sugarille comes from a historic south-facing plot of around 4.5 hectares, on clay-limestone soils marked by galestro, a schistous rock that contributes to the wine's depth and mineral tension.

The grapes are fermented with a maceration of around three weeks. The wine is then aged for 24 months in oak barrels, followed by 6 months in concrete tanks. A long rest in bottle completes its development before release.

This wine reveals notes of black cherry, ripe plum, pomegranate, wild raspberry, tea rose, liquorice, Mediterranean herbs, eucalyptus, smoked cedar, leather, sweet spices and ferrous earth. The palate, broad and deep, rests on a velvety texture, rich and silky tannins, lively acidity and a saline mineral backbone. The long, layered finish combines power, freshness and elegance.

Ah, Italy, what a beautiful hedonistic country, home of the Dolce Vita, but how difficult it is to understand how its wine world is organised! The key to understanding the Italian appellation system is to see it as several small countries rather than one homogeneous country, because 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 great quantity of soulless, characterless wines sold under their most useful and commercially best-known names: Pinot Grigio, Chianti, Valpolicella, Lambrusco, Prosecco and many others... But let's talk a little history: winegrowing in Italy dates back to the earliest antiquity and originated in Greece. The Etruscans are said to have introduced the vine, and Greek immigrants improved and changed the grape varieties planted, 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 were already standing 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 mountains of the north 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 "southern part of the boot" has a Mediterranean climate with very hot, very dry summers, not forgetting the islands of Sicily and Sardinia. In short, Italy produces an enormous variety of wines thanks to its 200 different grape varieties, many of them native to its soil. It is a country just as complex as its wines, which deserve to be explored!