The Story
Three grape varieties, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and a touch of Syrah, produce a rosé with decisive and intense aromas that reflect the characteristics of Bolgheri’s territory. The wine and vineyard take their name from a bandit named Scalabrone who roamed this area in the 18th century. Vineyards thrive on clay-loam based soils, mainly of alluvial origin, with rocky deposits.
Appellation: Bolgheri DOC Rosato
Blend: Merlot, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon
Estate: The Guado al Tasso estate is located in the small but prestigious Bolgheri DOC, on the coast of upper Maremma, about one hundred kilometers southwest from Florence. This appellation has a relatively recent history, DOC Bolgheri was approved in 1995 and since then it has become an internationally recognized reference point for the Italian and international winemaking arena. The estate covers an area of 320 hectares (790 acres) planted with vines, set in a beautiful plain encircled by rolling hillsides known as the "Bolgheri Amphitheatre" due to its particular shape. The vineyards are planted to Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Vermentino. The nearby sea provides a mild climate with constant breezes that mitigate summer heat and alleviate harsh winter weather, maintaining a clear sky and a high level of sunlight exposure.
Wine Information
A winter with a normal climate and a spring initially a bit warmer than usual led to an early bud break. Spring continued with entirely normal weather for the period and was followed by an early summer which was cooler than usual and marked as well by occasional rains, thus favoring a slow and gradual development of the vine vegetation free of vine stress. Very high August temperatures, though partly mitigated by the influence of the sea, created some anomalies in the ripening cycle and led to significantly lower production per hectare. September weather, instead, was ideal, with little humidity and favorable temperature swings from daytime warmth to evening and nighttime coolness. In short: 2011 was a difficult vintage in terms of the commitment required in during the picking and during the choice of the grapes on the sorting table, but a very satisfying one as far as the quality which was achieved.
VINIFICATION
Each single grape variety, produced as it is from vineyards selected precisely for the cultivation of the variety, was fermented on its own. The grape were destemmed and pressed very softly in the cellars. Skin contact, carried out at low temperatures, took place in the press and lasted from four to six hours according to the needs of the individual variety, with the objective of obtaining a must with the proper color, but without astringent notes. The pressing of the grapes produced a series of fractional extractions , each of which was chilled for 24 hours in order to assist a natural settling of the impurities. The clean must was then fermented in stainless steel tanks at temperatures which never exceeded 16° centigrade (61° Fahrenheit). The various lots were evaluated and selected a month after the end of the fermentation and the selected lots assembled to create the final blend, a wine at 12.5° alcohol.
40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 30% Syrah
