2008 Poggio al Lupo, Tuscany, Italy, Maremma IGT

Carlo Ferrini created this Maremma wine from one of Tuscany’s great estates, which spans 14 hectares of vineyards purchased by Antonio Moretti in 1999. The property is typical of Tuscany’s coastal areas, with pockets of soil rich in clay and others rich in gravel and fine stones. The principal Poggio al Lupo vineyard is a southerly hillside vineyard rising 100 meters above sea level and planted with both Alicante and Petit Verdot; the balance is Cabernet Sauvignon. Grapes are hand harvested and then fermented with prolonged maceration on the skins, followed by malolactic fermentation and maturation in French Allier barriques and in bottle before release.

South of the coastal Tuscan region of Bolgheri, the Maremma region is similarly subject to the moderating influence of Mediterranean breezes, with a warm, consistent, exceptionally luminous climate (positive influence on the photosynthesis) . Rainfall is sufficient, and in the more humid months sea winds serve both to areate the clusters to prevent diseases and dissipate early fall storms that sometimes plague vineyards farther inland at harvest.

Parker 90/100