IlMerlot

Vineyard and terroir

The 2015 wine came from three certified-organic Merlot vineyards in Cazzago San Martino and Passirano. The vines averaged 37 years of age. Harvest began on 9 September, with an average yield of 7,500 kg of grapes per hectare, equivalent to 4,350 litres of wine and a 58% grape-to-wine yield.

Grapes

100% Merlot.

Vinification

The grapes were hand-picked in three selected vineyards and immediately placed in small crates for grading and chilling. Every bunch was individually selected, washed in three soaking tanks with a hydro-massage treatment and dried. Bunches were conveyed above the vat and destemmed, allowing the berries to fall into the vessel by gravity without conventional pumping. Alcoholic fermentation and skin contact lasted 21 days, with controlled temperature, punch-downs and daily pump-overs performed through gravity-fed elevator tanks.

Ageing

After devatting while still warm, the wine entered small casks, 65% of them new oak seasoned for at least three years. Ageing lasted 18 months. Gravity bottling took place on 20 December 2016 through a filling system designed to limit oxidative and bottle shock, without additional sulphites. Each bottle received an individual traceability code, followed by seven years of bottle ageing.

Technical data

Alcohol: 13.5% vol. pH: 3.59. Total acidity: 4.30 g/L. Volatile acidity: 0.39 g/L. Total sulphur dioxide: below 28 mg/L.

Vintage notes

The warm, wet winter of 2014–2015 advanced the growing cycle. Frequent rain and above-average temperatures in May and early June increased fungal-disease pressure. Hot, dry conditions followed from mid-June through July, requiring emergency irrigation in the most stressed vineyards. Rain after mid-August helped the grapes reach optimal ripeness.

Label / history

IlMerlot was conceived as a varietal expression of one of Franciacorta's historic grapes, produced only in exceptional years. The first vintage was 1990, followed by 2001, 2003, 2009, 2011 and 2015.