Details

Macerated strawberries, cloves and subtel chocolate on the nose. Fresh, deep, dark and juicy, with more strawberry, acai berry, red cherry and cloves. Bonfire, cloves and smoke with sweet red cherry and clove on the finish. Long and soft.

 

ABV 13%

 

THE VINEYARD

Friuli-Venezia Giulia (to use its full name) is an interesting and unique region of North-East Italy famed and much revered for producing some richer textured whites and lighter and fresher reds. With Venice as its capital, the Adriatic to the south, the Austrian Alps to the north and Slovenia to the East it has a mild maritime climate, with cooling winds and moderate summers. A long drawn out growing season ensures ripe grapes with good concentration, especially given their low yields (some of the lowest in Italy). White wine dominates with indigenous varieties Friulano (W), Refosco and Schioppettino (R) shining though. The trend in Friuli winemaking is to express purity of fruit, taking the grapes quickly off the skins, preventing oxidation and using little (if any) oak.

It was only in 1959 that Isola Augusta’s founder, Renzo Bassini, first saw potential in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia clay soils and vineyards in which sits the modern day winery. Replanting old vines and renovating the outhouses they were quick to modernise, replacing many of the chemical interventions with physical processes and even pioneering the use of cold fermentation in the region. Since its foundation it has stayed in the family and now in the third generation the vineyard is managed using low environmental impact systems, almost entirely replacing chemical treatment with organic ones. Since 1990, the whole facility has been heated naturally using geothermal energy and in the early 2000s, the company achieved energy self-sufficiency, all with zero emissions.