CESCONI Moratel 2006 The four Cesconi brothers have transformed their family estate in the past decade. Whereas they previously sold all their fruit to the co-op at Lavis, today they are making some of Italy.s most exciting white wines. The brothers now have 21 hectares of vineyard in and around the village of Pressano situated at an altitude of 300-400 metres above sea level. Stylistically, their whites are more intense and perfumed than most from Friuli and slightly lighter, without the weight or fat that some of the top Friuli wines have. Their reds, on the other hand, have more weight than their Friulian counterparts. Most of their vineyards are now trained to guyot, as opposed to the traditional pergola style in Trentino - Nosiola is the exception. In general, guyot gives lower yields and riper, more flavourful fruit that in turn results in wines of greater power and balance. The Lagrein grapes are grown in on the warm, relatively flat pastures of Pressano, where soils are deep and loose. The vines are pergola trained, with 3,500 per hectare. Merlot, Cabernet, Teroldego and Syrah are grown in the Sarca valley, between the villages of Ceniga and Dro, 13km north of Lake Garda, at an altitude of 120 metres above sea level. Soils are moderately chalky with some clay. The vines are 8 years old on average, guyot trained and spur pruned, planted at a density of 5,500 per hectare. The overall yield is 7000 kg per hectare. Fermentation took place in temperature controlled stainless steel vats between 25-30°C. The fermentation lasted 8-10 days, with two weeks maceration. The wine was then transferred into 225L French oak barrels (of which 20-30% was new oak) for nearly 10 months ageing. Malolactic fermentation took place in barrel. The wine was filtered before bottling and matured for 6 months in bottle before release. Deep, bright ruby red in colour with an intense, ripe nose, perfumed with wild cherries, raspberries and blackcurrants with vanilla and spice in the background. On the palate, it is soft and ripe, with good structure, ripe tannins and cherry berry fruit. Vintage 2006 Grape varieties 60% Merlot 20% Cabernet Franc & Cabernet Sauvignon 10% Lagrein 10% Teroldego & Syrah Region Pressano Winemaker Roberto Cesconi Closure Stelvin Find this wine at www.winestore.co.uk Price: £95.72 (Including VAT at 20%)