Cuvée Suzanne

We handpick the grapes when the tannic acid is "ripe", i.e. when the grape seeds are mahogany brown. Then we sort out pebbles and leaves (and once a leopard snog!). The grapes are de-stemmed before entering the fermentation vats. This is also done by hand so as not to damage the grapes. After approx. one day the grapes begin to ferment. Every morning and evening we measure the temperature and pump the juice over the skins (pump over). The must takes on color quickly, as the grapes are perfectly ripe. The fermentations themselves run for approx. 5-6 days and we cool the fermenting must, as the temperature should preferably not exceed 28 °C. It can be very difficult to control, and the fermentation should preferably not be stopped. When the fermentation is finished, we pump the must into the wooden barrels. A short time after this (in the warm afternoon) the malolactic fermentation (the malolactic / lactic acid fermentation) begins.

The grapes come primarily from one of our single fields, Vignolo, here on Montecarrubo, which faces east towards the Ionian Sea. The field is planted with Syrah, sourced from the Côtes du Rhône. Otherwise, the rest of the wine comes from the small 4 hectares in Noto, further south.