UMBRIA IGT CERVARO DELLA SALA "CASTELLO DELLA SALA" 2019 - ANTINORI

Appellation : Umbria IGT

Vintage : 2019

Alcohol : 12.5%

Region : Umbria (Italy)

Format : 0.75 l

Grapes : 100% Pinot Noir

Climate

Winter tended to be mild and sunny, while spring was characterized by slightly below average temperatures and frequent rainfall. These meteorological conditions lasted until the end of May and conditioned the flowering and fruit setting times of both varieties, favoring a delay of about ten days. Since June, the weather has been generally dry. The vines, favored by the excellent water availability of the soils, maintained a good vegetative balance even during the hot month of August, ensuring complete veraison and a slow and gradual maturation. The excellent temperature ranges between day and night made it possible to obtain healthy bunches rich in aromatic precursors. The Chardonnay harvest for Cervaro della Sala began towards the end of the third week of August with healthy, ripe grapes characterized by excellent freshness and an excellent aromatic profile. The Grechetto harvest took place after about fifteen days, towards mid-September.

Vinification

The vinification cellar is built to take full advantage of the principle of gravity and allows the management of the grapes and their maceration without them undergoing mechanical interventions deriving from pumping action. The harvesting of the grapes takes place in the very early hours of the morning in order to allow the fruit to reach the cellar intact and not stressed by the highest temperatures of the day. The musts, coming from skin maceration of the grapes at 10 °C for about four hours, are transferred by gravity to settling tanks where they clarify before being transferred to barriques. It is here that the alcoholic fermentation takes place followed by the malolactic one. Usually after five months the Chardonnay is ready to be transferred back to steel to join with the Grechetto, which is instead vinified separately and in the "absence" of wood. Subsequently, the Cervaro della Sala ages for a few months in the bottle in the historic cellars of the Castello della Sala before being released on the market.

Historical data

The name Cervaro derives from the noble family that owned the Castello della Sala during the 14th century: the Monaldeschi della Cervara. Chardonnay grapes combined with a small part of Grechetto for a wine designed to refine over time and represent the elegance and complexity of a unique place. Cervaro della Sala was one of the first Italian wines to undergo malolactic fermentation and aging in barrique with the first vintage in 1985.

Tasting notes

Cervaro della Sala 2019 has a pale yellow color with still evident greenish reflections. The nose is intense and complex, with notes of citrus, pineapple and acacia flowers well in harmony with hints of vanilla and flint. On the palate it is full, fine and well structured; the pleasant sapidity is well balanced by the typical sweet sensations of hazelnut butter. The 2019 harvest will be remembered as one of the great vintages of Cervaro della Sala, capable of expressing itself today as in the years to come.