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What We Say 2007 Pallagrello Nero - Terre del Volturno IGT
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Today’s selection is a very rare and exclusive selection and we only have a few bottles. If you are a fan of unique and rustic Italian wines, then you won’t want to miss out on today’s special international selection..
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Mission Codename: The Land of Volturno
Operative: Agent White
Objective: Visit Italy’s Campania region and secure an exclusive and rare selection for our operatives.
Mission Status: Accomplished!
Current Winery: Castello Ducale
Wine Subject: 2007 Pallagrello Nero – Terre del Volturno IGT
Backgrounder: Pallagrello Nero is a rare bark skinned grape of Italian heritage Plantings of this unique and rustic varietal dates back to roman times. The Terre del Volturno IGT is located in the Campania region of southern Italy. The wines of this region are predominantly red with grapes that include Aglianino, Casavecchi, and Pallagrello Blanco and Nero as is the case of this wine.
Wine Spies Tasting Profile:
Look – Dark garnet with bright ruby red streaks that shine through its clear but dense heart. The color lightens only slightly along the edges and when swirled, clusters of randomly spaced medium legs streak down the side of the glass.
Smell – Bright and rustic aromas of red cherry, raspberry and ripe plum blend with earthy, spicy and floral aromas. Notes of green herbs and softly toasted oak along with toasted vanilla adds depth and invites a sip.
Feel – Smooth and plush upon entry before the finely textured tannins and mouth drying minerality hits at mid palate. This dry and medium-to-full bodied wine has soft but balanced acidity that peaks at the back of the tongue and last into the finish.
Taste – Ripe and plush flavors of red cherry, raspberry, strawberry and red plum leads the way and is followed by this wine’s earthy, exotic spice, hot pepper and toasted vanilla flavors. As the toasted vanilla lingers hints of green herbs and dried flowers appear along with notes of leather and oak.
Finish – Very long, with the mouth drying tannins and minerality lasting and lasting. The red fruit flavors fade leaving behind the oak and toasted vanilla as well as hints of earth and herbs.
Conclusion – The 2007 Castello Ducale Pallagrello Nero – Terre del Volturno IGT is a classic rustic southern Italian wine. Plenty of red fruit and the toasted vanilla lasts from start to finish. Its mouth drying minerality and tannins as well as its balanced acidity lends itself to rich sauces, baked pasta and dried or roasted meats. Enjoy this wine tonight or cellar for the next thee to five years.
Wine Spies Vineyard Check:
The approximate location of the Castello Ducale can be seen in this <A HREF=”http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Castello+Ducale&hl=en&hq=Castello+Ducale&t=h&z=14" TARGET="NEW">satellite photo.
What the Winery Says
Castello Ducale
About This Wine:
It has a black colour with purple reflex. Intense perfume with herbaceous scent and red fruits, prickly tannins, savory taste, dry, very persistent with final of vanilla.
Best to be served at temperature of 18-20°C.
Best with grilled of bovine, goat meats or black pig casertano.
The vineyard of the “Ventaglio”, willed on 1700 by Ferdinando IV of Borbone and realized by the Vanvitelli, so-called to have a plant in semicircle, uniform in nine rays and therefore in ten sectors, it is set on the Mountain. St. Leucio, to the left side of the fall of the Palace of Caserta, in it they were picked ten varieties of grape of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, among which the black Pallagrello, said black Piedimonte.
About The Winery:
The wine from ‘Castello Ducale’, grows on roughly 15 hectares. All organically grown on the hills of Castel Campagnano, and in the region of Solopaca (compliant with I.CE.A standards of Modena. The vines are grown within the IGT land (terre del Volturno e D.O.C Sannio). Red grapes produce:Aglianico. Sangiovese, Barbara, Piedirosso. Whilst the white grapes produce: Pallagrello and Falanghina.
The harvesting of grapes are hand picked in cases of 20kg. The fermentation and preservation take place at a controlled temperature in wine casks made of stainless steel.
L’Aglianico that is meant as the house wine, is usually fermented for 30 days in wooden barrels.
The refinements occur in new oak barrels, in the cellars of the ‘castello’ for a duration of 6-I5 months. The house reserve is aged in bottles for another six months. The bottling and labeling are done automatically by batch.
The cellars of ‘Castello Ducale’ are between Capua and the land of ‘Antico Sannio’.
A paleo Christian church dating from the XI century and adorned by Byzantine frescoes, was used as a cellar for conserving wine since 1600. Still today, the wines of ‘Castello Ducale’ are kept to mature and age in vaults made from volcanic rocks, where in every month of the year the temperature is of 13 degrees.
Technical Analysis:
Grape variety: Pallagrello Nero 100%
Zone of production: Castel Campagnano in the province of Caserta
Type of ground: Marne-exposed south-est
Fermentation: In red at controlled temperature
Maturation: In oak barriques of second passage of medium toasting for 8 months.
Alcohol: 14%
pH: 3.60
RS: Trace
TA: 4.9 g/l
