Winery & Vintage Info
Pietra Rossa is Italian for Red Stone, in reference to the iron oxide rich, rocky soils from which the fruit for this wine comes. The fruit is derived from Pizzini's leading Sangiovese vineyard sites, the Hut block G2, Brunello block D6 and Chestnut block D5.
Every vintage has its challenges, and the odds were certainly stacked against us this year. The cool temperatures and incessant rain kept us on our toes, however there is always a silver lining. The cool vintage delivered us near optimal ripening conditions with daily temperatures above 15˚C before 9am and not rising above 30˚C until late afternoon. These conditions were perfect for maximum flavour and colour development and as a result the wines we have made this vintage, both reds and whites, are of exceptional quality.
The Sangiovese grapes are machine picked and then fermented with a yeast called BM45, made famous in Tuscany for making great Brunello wines. The ferment temperatures reach and are maintained at, 30°C. A hotter fermentation extracts maximum colour, flavour and tannin from the fruit. This heat also helps soften the tannins in the wine through the polymerisation process. Once the wine finishes alcoholic fermentation, the best free run wine is drained and allowed to settle for a day before being transferred to barrels for malic acid fermentation and barrel ageing for 14 months. The wine is then blended, fined and bottled.
