Macchiona LA STOPPA, ELENA PANTALEONI, RIVERGARO, Emilia-Romagna 2012

RIVERGARO, Emilia-Romagna 

La Stoppa spreads on 30 hectares of vines and 28 ha of forest on the first slopes of the Apennins in the South West part of Piacenza, at about 250 meters high.

Here is a silty clay heavy soil, summers are dry and hot, and rains fall at end of automn or early spring.

Elena Pantaleoni, the winemaker took over the family estate in 1993, helped by Giulio Armani, she rapidly guided the production toward the organic farming rules and the use of local grapes. Today, the grapes planted are for red wines Barbera and Bonarda and for white wines Malvasia di Candia aromatica, Ortrugo and Trebiano, some Moscato.

All the estate is in certified organic culture and winemaking doesn’t use any enological products. As for Elena Pantaleoni, wines have to be true and linked to the soil they are from. This is the only way to produce unique wines that won’t be the same to another produced somewhere else.

First Production: 1973
Agriculture: Organic, natural green cover between the rows. No fertilizing, weed killers or pesticides  
Soil Type: Clay Silt
Trellis System: Simple Guyot
Vinification: 40 days maceration on skins in stainless steel and/or cement tanks
Fermentation and aging: Spontaneous fermentation with indigenous yeasts, aged in Slavonian oak barrels of 10 and 20 hectolitres as well as 40 hectolitre wooden tanks, and then aged in bottle for a time necessary, no filtration or sulphites added.

No Sulfur added to the wine.

Grapes: 50% Barbera - 50% Bonarda

Organic