Sauro Maule - 'Ca' Lombarda' - Merlot, Tai Rosso - Veneto, IT - 2019

The name Cà Lombarda derives from the name of the area where, in 2011, I produced my first bottles from vineyards that I rented in Val Liona. Nowadays, this red wine is made from grapes planted on the land around the new cellar, on the limestone soils of the Colli Berici, very suitable for the production of red wines.
The varieties are merlot and tai rosso, with the characteristics of robustness and colour of the former and the elegance and spicy aromas of the latter, in varying proportions depending on the vintage.
Merlot is a grape variety which is now present throughout the world, but that doesn’t mean it is trivial or without merit. Our idea is to preserve the great fruit character it can emanate, without making it too tannic. The moment for harvest depends very much on the particular year, the area and the wine that will be made, but it is harvested sometime in September. Young 8-year-old vines.
Tai Rosso is a native grape variety in the Colli Berici but is now becoming increasingly uncommon to find in the area, despite its ability to authentically express the uniqueness of the limestone soil of the Colli Berici. It is an elegant grape that makes up for what it doesn’t have in colour with a fine, spicy character and delicate tannins. It is harvested between the middle and the end of September. Young 8-year-old vines.
Fermentation takes place in stainless steel with a short stay on the skins - never more than 5 days – in order to have a red wine with light, delicate tannins, with fruit and a freshness for an easy but sincere approach.

The wine stays in steel tanks for about 8 months before bottling.

My wine is unfiltered. It comes from a spontaneous fermentation of the grape. Cultivated without the use of herbicides, pesticides or any other synthetic substances all in respect of the environment.The farm “Il Cavallino” started many years ago on the hills of the Colli Berici as a business in cattle breeding. My father Lino Maule, a man with great experience and a love for horses, wisely followed this activity. A few years ago, with the purchase of old family terrains in Selva of Montebello Vicentino, the farm changed its course and started a renovation in the systems and techniques of cultivating vineyards. We started with the removal of older plants that used the “Pergola” system, which had the disadvantage of having had used chemical herbicides. We then replanted them with the current system of “Guyot” and were able to oxyginate into the deep soil, contributing to the microbiological activity and in-depth development of the root system of the plant. We also mix grasses, consequently cut in the spring, into the soil to give the right amount of organic matter and nutrients without the addition of chemical fertilizers and other synthetic substances.In the treatments of the vineyards, we only use copper and sulfur. At the same time I am experimenting new natural solutions with the goal of eliminating even these basic treatments, we do not use herbicides or pesticides.In the winery, as in the vineyard, the basic choice is always the same. We add no synthetic substances. The only exception is for sulfur dioxide, added in small quantities only when necessary (with residues in the final wine that never exceed 35 mg / l).