HISTORY The history of the volcano is marked by the eruptions which have shaped it. That of 1614 is legendary; it lasted for 10 years, the longest ever recorded. The vines which produce this wine grow on this actual lava flow. Nerello Mascalese grown on these black soils at a height, for an intensely aromatic red wine with an elegant structure.
VINEYARDS & WINEMAKING The ground is perfectly placed and with excellent exposure, black with lava sands and due to this extraordinarily rich in minerals with abundant structure of large fragments, surrounded by woods and more recent lava flows.
The grapes were picked into crates of about 16/17 kg, and immediately chilled to 10 °C, then selected by hand. After destemming they ferment arriving up to 25-26 °C in concrete tanks and stainless steel vats, to remain on the skins from 16 to 40 days, being worked only with manual punch downs. The concrete tanks are being topped as soon as the alcoholic fermentation is complete, for a longer and fine extraction. They are then racked and separated using a vertical press, and continued with the malolactic fermentation in stainless steel.
TASTING NOTES This wine draws its tasting strength and extraordinary aromas of incense of medicinal herbs, hibiscus and wild fennel from the lava sands. The wine is luminous and lyrical, describing without filters the character and refinement of the great mountain red wines, though at latitudes near Africa. Tannins of compact density are drawn with elegance. The sweetness and generosity of wild fruit and currants mingles with aromas of incense and beeswax, a faint almost salty flavour invites a further sip.
