Masseto 2008

Varietal: Merlot

Climate and Harvest: The year 2010 will go down in history as each of the later vintages of recent years. From budding was in fact observed a vegetative delay of about 10 days which was maintained until the harvest. After a rainy spring, the hot and dry summer has ensured optimal development of the bunches. September saw some rain interrupting the harvest but there have been ample time sunny and dry, allowing the grapes to reach full maturity. The perfect state of the grape has been guaranteed by the proper management of the vineyards and the special care of flaking. The cool weather has instead allowed a great development of the aromatic part with fruity and floral notes of great freshness.

Vinification and aging: The harvest began September 14, starting from the rows of younger 'Masseto Junior' and 'Masseto Island' and ended October 4 with the left side of the central Masseto, fine harvest later never seen in the history of masseto, for a total of 5 different lots of winemaking. The grapes are harvested by hand in boxes of 15 kg, were evaluated and selected by hand on a double sorting table before and after de-stemming, and then subjected to a soft pressing. Each lot of the vineyard was vinified separately. The fermentation was carried out in tanks either steel or wood, followed by a maceration of 15-20 days at a temperature between 25 and 28 ° C. So began the malolactic fermentation in new oak barrels to 100%, taking into separate batches for the first 12 months of maturation. Subsequently, the wine was assembled and reintroduced back into barrels for another year, for a total of 24 months. The refinement was continued for another 12 months in bottle before release.