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Few seem to realize that the red wine most
characteristic of our region is actually Merlot; when
local people ask in general for a red wine, they always
receive Merlot. Most of the time it is a rather light-bodied
red with fairly low alcohol, meant for ready consumption.
At Castelcosa, however, we are looking for something else
entirely--depth, richness, and concentrated flavors. To
this end, we strive for low vineyard yields, which in
turn encourages full fruit ripeness and high flavor extract.
Our Merlot, then, shows a deep ruby red, the nose redolent
of ripe wild berries, accompanied by an appealing vanilla
undertone from its stay in oak barrels. These same charac-teristics
continue through in the mouth, with the fruitiness somewhat
more accentuated, and with a lovely vein of soft tannins.
The vineyard is located in the Grave district on nutrient-poor
soils of coarse gravel-pebbly texture. At 38 years old,
the vineyard is quite old for this area, and our viticultural
practices are focused on preserving this treasure as
long as possible.
Grapes are hand harvested into shallow picking-trays,
generally in the last week of September or the first
of October.
The grapes are de-stemmed and crushed, and the resultant
must, after inoculation with yeast strains and enzymes,
macerates on the skins for about twelve to fourteen
days. The juice is then pressed off and ferments in
temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks.
After going through malolactic fermentation, the wine
goes into small French and American oak barrels for
twelve to fifteen months. It is then clarified from
the lees and bottled.
Total production: Approx. 1,600 cases.
Alcohol: 13.5%
Total acidity: 5.6 gr/li.
pH: 3.45
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