Taurasi "Vigne d'Alto" DOCG - Cantine Lonardo

Grape variety: Aglianico 100%
Production area: Loc.tà Case d'Alto, Taurasi (AV)
Soil type: Medium texture, silty mixed with ash and volcanic pumice, crumbly and with a coarse texture.
Rootstock: Virginia creeper
Vineyard exposure: South
Altitude of the vineyards: 400 m above sea level.
Training system: Spurred cordon
Planting density: 3000 vines/ha
Grape yield: 40 quintals/ha
Wine yield: 55-60%/Ql
Production: 1300

Description

Taurasi Vigne d'alto is produced with selected grapes from the Case d'Alto area only, in particular from vineyards that are between 50 and 60 years old. They are old plants, with a starseto or pergola avellinese, with a multiple variety of clones of Aglianico (in fact, Aglianicone and Aglianichello are distinguished). The area is characterized by a soil of silty-ash matrix, with a fine and crumbly grain that allows good drainage. From the analyses carried out it is rich in carbon, nitrogen with a pH of 6.58. The vineyards are located in open and ventilated spaces, therefore little subject to morning humidity for many months of the year. The grapes have medium-sized bunches with spherical berries of very intense color, pulp rich in mineral substances and sugars (23-25%), thin skins with a high concentration of anthocyanins and tannins.

Winemaking

The grapes, harvested by hand and immediately transported to the cellar in 18 kg crates, are crushed and destemmed and vinified with maceration at an increasing temperature from 10 to 28°C for about 12-18 days. The tumultuous fermentation, grafted with native yeasts, lasts about 15 days. At the end of fermentation, a maceration on the skins is carried out for about 30 days. After racking and the first racking, the wine is stored for 18 months in 500-liter oak barrels, then in steel tanks for 10 months. After about 28 months of aging it is bottled where it rests for a further 24 months.

Tasting

The color is quite bright, dense. Intense and complex on the nose with notes of rhubarb, earthy fervor, hints of ashes, distinctly mineral. On the palate it is quite warm and still with vibrant tannins for their youth. Intense and very persistent.

Pairings

It is certainly a wine for rich foods based on red meats, game, and winter dishes typical of mountain cuisine. Very mature cheeses. A wine to drink alone away from meals. It should be served, decanted, for the possible presence of light deposits due to the lack of filtration and stabilization, at a temperature of 18-20°C