PRODUCTION
The grapes were harvested at very full ripeness levels in order to produce a rich wine. After pressing, the must was fermented in conical stainless steel tanks at temperatures kept around 25°C. The phase of skin contact, carried out with soft techniques in order to guarantee a gradual and balanced extraction, lasted 15 days. After being run off its skins, the wine went into 60 gallon French and Hungarian oak barrels, where it also went through a complete malolactic fermentation, and the aging period before bottling lasted twelve months. An additional eight month period of bottle aging preceded commercial release.
A NEW EXPRESSION OF AGLIANICO
Castel del Monte’s most noble grape variety, Aglianico, takes on a new expression. Created to introduce wine enthusiasts to this ancient grape that possesses enormous potential and equally great complexity, its new identity has emerged with the newer vintages thanks to an elegant softness and mellowness as a result of a modern cuvée. The wine comes from a specific area of the estate, pictured on the label, that is presently a railway crossing: it was once a rest stop for travelling shepherds during their long seasonal migrations. Legends say shepherds’ passage were protected by thirty angels.