About the vineyard

Many of Italy's most illustrious wines come from the more northern part of the country. Piedmont, in particular, guarantees many an extremely expensive bottle. But the "Super Tuscans" also know their way around the Euri. Yet there is also a world-class wine in the deep south. We have to go back to 1983 when Silvia Imparato wanted to do something beautiful with the (then) 4 hectares of her parents' vineyard. Together with a group of fellow wine enthusiasts (mostly Bordeaux lovers), she set to work. In addition to the local aglianico grape, cabernet-sauvignon was initially planted, followed later by merlot. The first harvest came with the 1989 vintage. Soon after, wine writer Robert Parker discovered this unique red wine and wrote it into the stars. From one day to the next, the tone was set; Montevetrano was a superstar overnight. Steadily the vineyard area grew to 6 and 11 hectares. In 1992, Sylvia invited the then "up-and-coming" oenologist Ricardo Cotarella to come and help her with that year's harvest. That connection still exists today. Cotarella has since become one of Italy's all-important winemakers. Montevetrano falls under the appellation of origin I.G.P. Colli di Salerno and today has 26 hectares. Since 2011, in addition to Montevetrano Rosso, a wine called Core (heart) has been made in white and red. The red Core consists entirely of aglianico grapes while the white consists of fiano and greco. The great world-famous wine, however, is Montevetrano. The grape composition is 60% cabernet sauvignon, 30% merlot and 10% aglianico. Barely 1,000 bottles were produced in 1989, but now total production is heading toward 50,000 bottles. Sylvia does not want to get bigger than this. They must remain handmade wines. (Awarded 23 times with 3 red glasses in the Gambero Rosso) The vineyards are located in the province of Campania, relatively close to the coast (above the town of Salerno), which somewhat mitigates the intense heat. Several hectares are in a national park called "Monti Picentini. Contemporary winemaking techniques are used. The destemmed grapes ferment in spotlessly clean, stainless steel fermentation tanks. To increase concentration, 'remontage' is applied. This involves pumping the fermenting juice from the bottom of the tank over the floating mass of skins. After this, the young wine goes to the barrel cellar where it matures in oak barrels, 50% of which are new each year. Depending on the year, the aging time is 9 to 14 months.