Region: Marches
Producer: Fattoria Mancini
Alcohol: 13.5%
Grape Varieties: 100% Pinot Noir Closure: Cork

Producer: The Mancini family have made wine here for five generations, and current owner Luigi Mancini's fascination is with more unusual grape varieties: either the Pinot Noir brought to this particular part of the northern Marches by the French two hundred years ago, or local treasures like Ancellotta and Albanella. In clay-limestone soil, with temperatures moderated by the Adriatic, these varieties thrive alongside the more mainstream Sangiovese and Montepulciano.

Vineyard :The soil of calcareous sandstone and cool microclimate along this elevated section of the Adriatic coast has proven to be ideal for the cultivation of Pinot Noir. The vineyards are situated one kilometre from the coast at an altitude of 100-150 metres above sea level. New clones came into production in 2007, and have elevated Mancini's Pinot Noir to another level of depth and elegance. Grapes were hand-harvested into 15kg baskets, and immediately placed in a mobile cooling cellar for transport to the winery.

Winery: After a night of cooling, grapes were destemmed the following morning at a low temperature. Cold maceration lasted for approximately a week, and fermentation took place in tank with a combination of delestage, pumping over and punch downs for around fifteen days. Malolactic fermentation was carried out in barrel. The wine spent twelve months on lees in French oak barrels (forty percent new), with monthly stirring.

Taste: Creamy strawberry/redcurrant aromas typical of the variety, then seamless balance on the palate, mid-weight and elegant - a great and individual expression of Pinot Noir.