Villa Donoratico 2019
DOC Bolgheri Rosso
To describe a wine, it is necessary to find out about its origin – the landscape, the place, the environment from which it is born: this is the only way to fully understand its nature.
Villa Donoratico is a decidedly consistent and complex wine that reveals deep bond with the territory.
Cabernet Sauvignon 40%
Merlot 35%
Cabernet Franc 20%
Petit Verdot 5%
VINIFICATION
Grapes are harvested manually and selected on the sorting table; whole and intact grapes fall into the tanks thanks to the force of gravity.
All varieties are vinified separately; fermentation and maceration took place in stainless steel tanks for roughly 20-25 days at a controlled temperature that never exceeded 28° C.
After undergoing malolactic fermentation, 80% of the wine aged in 500-l French and Austrian oak tonneaux while the remaining 20% in 225-l French oak barriques. The wine then refined in the bottle.
TERROIR
Altitude 30/80 m. asl
Vineyard exposure North-South
Plant density 6000 plants/ha
Yield per hectare 70 qa/ha
Soil continental sands and Flysch*
*sedimentary rocks consisting of limestone, marble, clay interbedded with sandstones and siliceous rocks
CLIMATE
The year began with a generally mild winter and not excessively rainy days; however, the month of January recorded a sharp drop in temperatures.
March was undoubtedly dry, presenting little rain, and was rather hot: this anticipated the restart of vegetative growth which, however, has not been hastened thanks to a mild and quite rainy month of April.
In general, the spring rains and the somewhat anomalously cool temperatures in May strongly delayed flowering and fruit set: this brought the plants to a perfect vegetative balance that has been needed to face the summer. The season was dry, but it has seen some rain that created enough water reserve and accompanied the veraison, avoiding the risks of water stress on the plants.
The hot and dry weather in September guaranteed a slow and long maturation; the plants with exceptional productive balance have managed to perfectly ripen their bunches, which revealed excellent quality on average.
Harvest began on September 6 with the Merlot grapes from the “Villa Donoratico” area, and it ended with the Cabernet Sauvignon harvested between the end of September and October 9.
The wines reveal sweetness and great structure; all the varieties showed a rather marked acidity that makes this a well-balanced wine that immediately reveals its excellence.
