'Macchiona' La Stoppa 2018

La Macchiona is a wine that excites because of its direct and rustic traits, drawing an accurate portrait of the Colli Piacentini. Elena Pantaleoni's is a story of unconditional love for her land, from the time of the acquisition of La Stoppa winery in 1973 and growing over the years with the firm conviction that the best way to express the territory and its fruit was to intervene as least as possible. Fundamental to the full achievement of this project was the contribution of winemaker Giulio Armani, a firm believer in agriculture that envisages only copper and sulfur as treatments in the vineyard, followed by winemaking that allows the liquid a chance to express itself spontaneously.

The Macchiona red wine consists of 50 per cent Barbera and 50 per cent Bonarda. The name comes from a farmhouse located in the middle of the vineyards and already hints at some of the characteristics of the wine produced, such as the intense colouring. No fertilization, weeding or pesticides, but only small doses of copper and sulfur, if necessary, to allow the vines to express themselves in the most multifaceted way possible. The vines, which rest on calcareous clay soil, are between 10 and 60 years old. Long macerations lasting approximately 30 days and fermentations exclusively driven by indigenous yeasts characterize a well-defined philosophy, with the liquid maturing for about 12 months in large Slavonian oak barrels and at least two additional years in the bottle without undergoing any filtration.

La Macchiona della Stoppa reveals itself in the glass with a deep ruby red of remarkable intensity. To the nose, it dances between sensations of various kinds, alternating lashings of dark berry fruits with rustic and territorial hints of leather and earth. It seduces by showing itself so bluntly, unfiltered. The sip is impetuous, filling the palate with a perfectly balanced combination of meatiness and freshness, leaving a long persistence. A great candidate to become one of your favourite wines.