Rosso del Sebino Maurizio Zanella Igt 2019 75 cl Ca' del Bosco

CADB MZAN

Personality. The first wine bearing its creator's signature - Maurizio Zanella - on the label, proudly celebrating the passion of Ca' del Bosco's founder. A wine embodying a perfect blend of a territory and its style.

A great wine, surely among the jewels contributing to the "Italian wine renaissance". Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc selected from the winery's finest vineyards, skillfully vinified and refined in small oak barrels guarantee a rock-solid wine, potent yet harmonious, able to mature for years.

Denomination: Rosso del Sebino Igt.

Grape varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon 50%, Merlot 25%, Cabernet Franc 25%. Vineyards of provenance 3 Cabernet Sauvignon vineyards planted an average of 32 years ago located in the municipality of Erbusco. 2 Merlot vineyards planted an average of 29 years ago located in the municipality of Cazzago San Martino. 1 Cabernet Franc vineyard planted an average of 33 years ago located in the municipality of Passirano.

Harvest 2019: The winter saw mild temperatures and scarce rainfall, with the spring consequently starting earlier than usual. From the second week of April on, however, the weather changed dramatically, and showers prevailed until mid-May, with lower than average temperatures. This pattern affected flowering and caused flower abortion on the wings of the clusters and coulure, leading to smaller and looser bunches, with low average weight. From May 15th onwards, the weather conditions markedly improved, and fruit set occurred under favorable conditions. In June, temperatures were above average, which qualified the month as the driest in the last 20 years. Dry weather continued into mid-July, with the vines starting to display the effects of water stress. Early August brought the long-awaited rains that quenched the vines’ thirst and thus saved the season. But it was the final flare of summer around mid-September that truly exalted the quality of black grapes: the harvesting operations began on September 16th with Merlot and ended on October 1st with Cabernet Sauvignon. Average yield per hectare: 5,000 kilograms of grapes, equivalent to 2,900 liters of wine (grape-to-wine: 58%).

Vinification: Our Maurizio Zanella is obtained through the separate pressing of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc from Ca’ del Bosco’s best vineyards. The grapes are hand-picked and placed in small crates, where they are graded and chilled. The bunches are individually assessed by expert eyes and hands before they benefit from the exclusive “berry spa”, i.e. a special washing and hydro-massage treatment using three soaking tanks and a drying system. Shortly afterwards, each bunch is transported over the maceration vat to be destemmed; the berries fall into the vat by gravity. This avoids the use of traditional pumps, which cause the skins to break and impart unwanted herbaceous flavors. Alcoholic fermentation and skin contact took place in the following 21 days, with careful management of temperature and punching down. Pumping over takes place daily, using twin elevator tanks to which the wine, drawn from the bottom of the vat, is transferred by gravity. The wine is then raised by the so-called “flying tanks”, and is vigorously poured back into the vat, so as to punch the blanket (or “cap”) down. There’s no more natural or effective way of gently extracting color and tannins. After devatting, while still warm, the wine is placed in small casks – 70% new oak, carefully selected and seasoned for a minimum of 3 years. Only after malolactic fermentation, by mid-winter, are the different batches racked and blended. The Maurizio Zanella then continues to age in oak for approx. 17 months. Later on, the batches are assembled and the wine is gravity bottled, in a natural way. The innovative filling systems mean that the wine does not suffer from oxidative shock or bottle shock, and does not require the addition of sulfites. Its integrity and wholesomeness are thus guaranteed. Finally, each bottle is marked with a unique ID to ensure full traceability.

Bottling: 23rd March 2021. Bottle ageing 1 year and 7 months.

Data at bottling: Alcohol 13.50% Vol.; pH 3.48; Total Acidity 4.70 grams/litre; Volatile Acidity 0.35 grams/litre. Sulphites Total Sulphur Dioxide less than 38 milligrams/litre (maximum legal limit: 150 milligrams/litre).

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