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Wine Description
The Story
The Fattoria Le Mortelle is located in the heart of the lower Maremma, approximately 9 km from the own of Castiglione della Pescaia in the province of Grosseto. It extends over a total of 675 acres (270 hectares), close to 400 of which (160 hectares) are planted to vines., prevalently Cabernet Sauvignon and Sangiovese, in addition to more recent vineyards with such white grape varieties as Vermentino, Ansonica, and Viognier.
The property was purchased by the Antinori family in 1999 with the conviction that the area, had an important potential for wine of real quality.
The new cellar of the Mortelle estate is underground in order to minimize the impact on the environment. It was built using natural materials, taking advantage of the thermoregulation provided by rocks located deep under the earth’s surface.
The water used in the winery during various processes is routed back into the environment using a natural cycle of phytoremediation, and the energy which has to be acquired only comes from renewable sources of production.
Wine Information
Blend
60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Cabernet Franc
Climate
The winter months, and part of the spring of 2009, were characterized by abundant rainfall which created good water reserves in the ground soil. The second part of spring was marked by fine weather, which accompanied to perfection the development of the vines and, accordingly, the ripening of the grapes. These conditions - along with a strong solar radiation - which characterized the second half of August, given the excellent state of vegetative health and development of the vines, aided in achieving an excellent varietal expression and aromatic character in the grapes.
Vinification
The grapes were first selected in the vineyard, then picked and brought to the cellars where they were destemmed and pressed. The must was transferred to stainless steel fermenting tanks and chilled to 8-10° centigrade (46-50° Fahrenheit) for an initial period of four to five days in order to bring out the varietal character of the aromas and maintain a greater integrity of the fruit. In the next phase, with the beginning of fermentation, temperatures rose to 25° centigrade (77° Fahrenheit). During the period of skin contact, which lasted on average fifteen days, the cap of skins in the tanks was regularly bathed in order to extract only the finest and sweetest tannins. After the wine was run off its skins, it was racked once again into stainless steel tanks where, before the end of the year, it went through a complete malolactic fermentation. It was then racked into small oak barrels where it aged for twelve months and then bottled. The wine was given an additional period of bottle aging before release. Alcohol : 13.5% Vol.
