Palmentino 2022

A blend of several micro-vinifications of organic Nerello Mascalese (95%), harvested in the field along with other varieties. All grapes are hand-picked from old bush-trained vines grown on high-altitude terraces on the north side of Etna. Forty percent of the grapes ferment in the estate’s traditional 300-year-old building, called a palmento. Here, 60% of the grapes are destemmed by hand, while the remainder remain whole-bunch. The grapes macerate for 4–5 days, being trampled and crushed several times. The fermenting must is then pressed and continues to ferment in a used 20-hl oak barrel. The remaining blend comes from a series of small bush-trained vineyards, fermented in large vats and in a 30-hl open-top wooden fermenter for 1–3 weeks, with daily manual punching down. 20% whole-bunch grapes are used. The fermenting wines are pressed in 11-hl chestnut barrels and a 16-hl French oak barrel. All the individual components complete malolactic fermentation spontaneously and are left on the fine lees for 11 months. Blending takes place in October, a minimal amount of sulfites is added, and the wine is bottled without fining or filtration in February.