Red Wine Duca di Montalbo - Az. Agr. Milazzo

DUCA DI MONTALBO SICILY IGP RED WINE - AZ. AGR. MILAZZO

VARIETIES: special clones ‘selection of Nero d’Avola and Nero Cappuccio

VINEYARDS: Milici and Montalbo

FIRST VINTAGE: 1993

VINES’ AVERAGE AGE: over 50 years old

SOIL: plateau, marl in origin with high clay component strongly calcareous

TRAINING SYSTEM: guyot

PLANTS PER HECTAR: over 6000

AVERAGE YIELD PER HECTAR: 60 Qt.

HARVEST : end of October

HARVEST METHOD: grapes selection on the plant, manual harvesting in small crates of about 14 kg

VINIFICATION: the clusters were gently destemmed with final selection of the berries. The grapes were then trasferred in horizontal roto-fermenters for 30 days, in order to complete the alcoholic fermentation. The malolactic fermentation was completed in oak barriques

REFINING: 48 months in barrique. Minimum 2 years maturation in the bottle. Bottling took place on the 26th of July, 2011

ALCOHOL CONTENT: 14 % by Volume

PAIRINGS: elaborated dishes and meats such as English beef sirloin, breast of duck or goose, lamb,  game (wild boar, roe deer, red deer), blue and long-aged cheeses

SERVING TEMPERATURE: 16 - 18° C

AGING POTENTIAL: 15-20 years Our most precious red wine. Only the best vintages from the oldest vineyards, over 50 years old, with a very low yield per hectar are elected to be Duca di Montalbo. The plot of land, or Cru, is crucial: the soil in the area called Montalbo is characterized by a 100% careous marl, a lunar landscape, extremely suited for the long ripening of the red varieties.

CULTIVATION ENVIRONMENT The picking of the grapes for the Duca di Montalbo coincides with the end of the harvest (second half or end of October), a delicate moment in which to evaluate whether the vintage has reached the quality standards necessary to make it a family Cru. The grapes cultivated in this plot of land in fact have a quite rich polyphenolic profile, difficult to mature, for this reason the fruit’s ripening is pushed on until the leaves begin to turn yellow, a sign that the vines are moving  owards dormancy.

SENSORY PROFILE Beautiful colour deep ruby red. Intense, rich of tertiary aromas but at the same time contained and well preserved, with evident spicy notes of tobacco, pepper corn, balsamic hints, intertwined with primary wild cherries. The mouthfeel is warm, full with well-rounded tannins. The wine has a surprisingly long finish, ideal for the most special moment. A meditation wine.