Podere Il Carnasciale

Caberlot grows in the hills between the Tuscan Apennines and the Chianti Classico, in a landscape that has been cultivated since ancient times. Three factors are important for Caberlot: the variety, its terroir and our work in the vineyard. The ‘Caberlot’ vine was discovered in the early 1960s in an old vineyard near Padua. It is a mix of the characteristics of Cabernet Franc with Merlot; it is a spontaneous crossing, a hybrid now grown exclusively at Podere Il Carnasciale. The property consists of three ‘lieux-dits’ located in various micro-environments, on rocky and sloping terrain. The vineyards have a total area of 3.1 hectares and they are planted exclusively with the high-density Caberlot variety. They were planted in the 1986, 1999 and 2004 vintages. The land is worked by hand with minimal intervention and only with organic products. Two more ‘climats’ were planted in 2011 and 2013, for the future. Harvesting begins at the moment of optimal phenolic ripening of the grapes, with a manual triage in the vineyards. The yield remains below 30hl per hectare. The work in the cellar is unobtrusive. The grapes are destemmed and the must is fermented in small temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks. The contact of the skins with the must is achieved by a manual punching down process called “follatura”. The use of sulphites is kept down to a strict minimum. Malolactic fermentation and ageing take place in 70% new, carefully selected French oak barriques and fûts, for a 22 month period of time. Following ageing, there is a qualitative tasting of the individual barrels, which will decide the blend for the composition of Caberlot and Carnasciale. The bottling solely in magnum and double magnum bottles for the Caberlot is followed by a further 18 months of ageing in the cellar, while the 0.75 bottle is used for the Carnasciale and the ageing is 6 months. We produce around 3,500 hand-numbered magnums of Caberlot. Today, allocations of our wines are destined for 27 countries around the world. Vinification is guided by the search for the expression of the grape variety in the vintage, and it is always done with precision, freshness and elegance.

• Hectares of vineyards: 4,6
• Grapevines: Caberlot
• Other products: Extra Virgin Olive Oil