back
ITALIAN Ponte Pietra Merlot Corvina 2010
Producer
These wines are made by Matt Thomson at the Cantina di Monteforte.
Verona’s ‘Ponte Pietra’ (stone bridge) dates back to Roman times, although vines have been planted on the hills outside of Verona for much longer than this bridge has spanned the Adige River.
Vineyards
The fruit for the Merlot Corvina is grown in vineyards situated next to the Soave zone in the Val d`Alpone. The Merlot is grown on the warm, sheltered plains, on clay soils and the Corvina in the foothills on tufaceous basalt soils. All of the vineyards have excellent exposure, which helps to ensure complete ripeness.
Vintage Information
The Veneto winter was characterised by cold, wet weather which gave way to a cool, rainy spring. Conditions improved in late May with a hot, dry June with good diurnal temperature differences. Harvest was approximately a week later than 2009 and the grapes were picked in good condition with good acidity levels, better pH than 2009 and lovely aromatic qualities.
Vinification
The grapes were hand harvested, de-stemmed, crushed and pumped to stainless steel tanks purpose-built for fermenting red wine. 25% of the juice was drained from the tank in order to increase the ratio of skins to juice, which in turn resulted in a wine with greater colour and flavour. The wine was pumped over the cap every hour in the early stages to increase extraction further. It was left in contact with the skins for 4-5 days, and fermentation took place at temperatures up to 30°C. After pressing, the wine was aged in stainless steel tanks until bottling.
Tasting Notes
The Merlot lends the wine a soft, blackberry voluptuousness, whereas the ripe Corvina adds the characteristic cherry blossom perfume and ripe cherry pie fruit character to the palate and finish. Clean, fresh and well-balanced through to the finish.
| Vintage |
2010 |
| Grape varieties |
50% Merlot
50% Corvina/Corvinone |
| Region |
Bardolino, Veneto |
| Winemaker |
Matt Thomson |
| Closure |
Stelvin |
| Alcohol (ABV) |
12% |
