Details make the difference

On the labels of our youngest wines, Tintaunita and Mezzatinta, leaves coming from our vineyards are reproduced, in order to emphasize their origin and allow this wonderful pattern created by Nature to wrap the bottle, interrupted only by the presence of our logo, printed with an hot-foil technique.

The screw caps for these two wines have an inner membrane that permits a controlled passage of oxygen, allowing a minimal and planned exchange with the external environment which is the same for all the bottles, without the risk of being contaminated by unwanted smells or other defects.

We pay extreme attention to all the aspects that involve packaging, not only in terms of aesthetics but also in terms of environmental impact: both the glass of the bottles and the aluminum of the screw caps are totally recyclable, as well as the packaging made exclusively of cardboard, without the presence of any plastic element for its assembling and closing.

Starting from the 2020 vintage we decided to report on the labels of our wines the indications for a correct disposal of the materials used.

Everything starts in the vineyard

Within our vineyards, located in Ghemme and in Sizzano, the composition of the soils varies greatly, thanks to their fluvio-glacial origin which allows the presence of different elements and minerals coming from the Monte Rosa and brought here hundreds of thousands of years ago. The presence of clay is a constant thread and allows water to be found in the subsoil even in the hottest moments of the season, without the need of any irrigation practice. The roots of vines are therefore stimulated to look for humidity and nutritive elements very deep in the subsoil.

In the management of our vineyards we follow an integrated pest management approach, avoiding chemical weeding and favouring a rational method. Many of the operations, starting from the planting itself, are manual, as well as the harvesting, made in small boxes.

We pay absolute attention to biodiversity, proud of the maintenance of meadows and woods on our land, alternating with the vineyard landscape.

The King of Piedmont

Only in a land unique for history, climate and terroir, excellent wines are made from excellent grapes, also thanks to the main grape variety grown here: the Nebbiolo, locally called “Spanna“. In our vineyards we privilege the only clone of Nebbiolo typical of these areas, called “Cobianco“, found some years ago in an ancient vineyard in Ghemme. The new plants are prepared every year by our nurserymen, choosing from time to time the most suitable rootstocks for the specificities of the different soils.

The Nebbiolo grape variety, because of its growing requirements, with an early budding and a medium-late ripening, can be cultivated to give a product of excellence only in limited areas, including Alto Piemonte.

We decided to valorize our production by focusing on this extraordinary variety that requires particular attention but repays every harvest with an excellent fruit suitable to produce wines of different styles, starting from young red wines as well as pink ones, up to mature red wines extremely long-lasting, such as Ghemme.

History, land, wine

The variety of soils, on the slopes of Monte Rosa, represents a unicum in the viticultural field, with completely different soils that can be found even within a short distance. This, together with peculiar pedoclimatic aspects, with average acid soils and noticeable thermal excursions, allows the production of wines which reflect the characteristics given by the unique combination between the fruit of the vine and the single vintage.

Milestones

July 2024 – Tintaunita 2021, Mezzatinta 2021 and Ghemme 2020 reviewed on JancisRobinson.com

Tintaunita 2021 – 17 / 20 – “Palish ruby. A fantastic nose of wild strawberry mingling with hints of Campari and herbs. Great depth. Cool raspberry and cherry fruit on the palate with tactile, sandpapery tannins. It is so good it is competing with Vigneti Costacurta’s Ghemme Nebbiolo! Has a cool edge without being thin and it’s from a very good vintage.” (Walter Speller)

Mezzatinta 2021 – 16.5 / 20 – “Pale salmon with an orange tinge. A distinctive nose that immediately reminds one of Nebbiolo with notes of wild strawberry and cherry and a hint of garden herbs. Viscous and generous on the palate and with just enough acidity to keep this going. Will come into its own with fish dishes.” (Walter Speller)

Ghemme 2020 – 17.5 / 20 – “Lustrous ruby with bricky rim. Complex, balsamic cherry with hints of tar and a suggestion of cumin, rosemary and blood orange. Looks like a little new oak was used. Impressive depth on the nose. Still a little backward on the palate with sour cherry and raspberry fruit and long, fine, sandy tannins. Very long and with great depth; suave at the same time.” (Walter Speller)

November & December 2023 – Ghemme 2019, Tintaunita 2020 and Mezzatinta 2020 reviewed on Winepilot

Ghemme 2019 – 95 / 100 – “Glossy black cherries and Japanese plums takes the central stage here, conveying an exotic oak garment (older barrels), sandalwood, cedar and a touch of cinnamon. It takes a while before showing the provenance and fruit profile. Sappy, soft-grainy tannins hug the multi-layered palate. It’s a moreish and alluring Ghemme with an English accent.” (Lisa Cardelli)

Tintaunita 2020 – 93 / 100 – “Quality kirsch, subtle tomato bush, decaying leaves, tilled earth. Lovely savouriness here, and a soft and supple palate of medium body, carrying cherry, dried rose, dried herbs, tomato leaf. Gossamer tannins and a latent lick of acidity bring structure and gentle length. There’s a softness and lightness of touch here, with nice complexity and eminent drinkability.” (Tom Kline)

Mezzatinta 2020 – 94 / 100 – “A lovely onion skin colour. Ruby grapefruit, orange peel and pith, orange oil, amaro, rosewater, musk – complex and vinous. Equal parts bitter and fresh on the palate, with orange rind, mandarin, amaro, preserved lemon. A shimmer of tannin to the sides, and lovely carry of dried rose, musk, and orange zest through the palate. This is not your throw-down Rosato, but a vinous, structured, and complex wine of textural complexity and savoury appeal. Delicious.” (Tom Kline)

July 2023 – Tintaunita 2019 reviewed on Winepilot

Tintaunita 2019 – 93 / 100 – “Decaying red florals, cherry, red liquorice root, and a whisper of salted meat with a gratifying and attractive autumnal lift. The palate is tight and fine with pleasing linearity and mineral cut around red rose and cherry pit. The tannins are light and chalky. There’s a Pinot Noir sensibility here, and a high drinkability factor. Delicious.” (Tom Kline)

March 2023 – Tintaunita 2020, Mezzatinta 2020 and Ghemme 2019 reviewed from Kerin O’Keefe

Tintaunita 2020 – 90 / 100 – “This young, savory red is an absolute joy to drink. The nose starts off with aromas of forest floor, violet and wild berry while the easygoing palate offers juicy Morello cherry, fleshy black raspberry and spicy notes of white and black pepper alongside lithe tannins. Drink soon.“(Kerin O’Keefe)

Mezzatinta 2020 – 90 / 100 – “Made entirely with Nebbiolo, this serious rosato opens with delicate scents of red forest berry, blue flower, dog rose and an unusual scent recalling beeswax. Vinified in steel tanks and aged for another six months in steel followed by bottle aging, the elegant palate offers crushed raspberry, sour cherry and apple before an almost salty saline finish. Bright acidity keeps it energized.” (Kerin O’Keefe)

Ghemme 2019 – 92 / 100 – “Aromas of small red berry, violet, oak-driven spice and camphor shape the nose. Elegant and structured, the smooth, tense palate offers juicy red berry and French oak sensations of coconut, vanilla and mocha accompanied by polished tannins. Drink through 2031.” (Kerin O’Keefe)

December 2022 – Tintaunita 2020, Mezzatinta 2020 and Ghemme 2019 reviewed on JancisRobinson.com

Tintaunita 2020 – 17 / 20 – “Youthful mid ruby. A pretty, perfumed red-fruit nose with Nebbiolo’s red beetroot and raspberry notes. Lots of ripeness but not heavy. Sappy, ripe red fruit, just medium-bodied and with long, powdery tannins. Appetising. I would serve this slightly cool at 15 °C.” (Walter Speller)

Mezzatinta 2020 – 17+ / 20 – “Pale onion pink. Firm, minerally nose with aromatic hints of aromatic cranberry. Sappy and fresh cranberry and finely textured. Pretty impressive rosato and once you realise it is made of Nebbiolo you truly recognise it.” (Walter Speller)

Ghemme 2019 – 17.5 / 20 – “Pale ruby. A compelling sweet-raspberry, sour-cherry nose mingling with complex, sweet oak and with hints of fresh mint. Fragrant, long and elegant, while the sappy fruit is still a little marked by the oak, and bags of powdery tannins on the finish. Such amazing elegance for a Ghemme! Deceptively light of touch, but this needs food. A stunning Ghemme.” (Walter Speller)

April 2022 – Tintaunita 2019 & Mezzatinta 2019 reviewed on JancisRobinson.com

Tintaunita 2019 – 17.5 / 20 – “Just mid crimson. Immediately appealing with perfumed wild strawberry and cherry with just a whiff of minerally liquorice. On the palate the fruit is concentrated and nervy at the same time. Like a cool-climate wine. Fantastic medium- to full-bodied palate weight and yet just 12.5%. A sense of cool climate and with super-fine tannins that just show up on the finish. It is a lazy thing to say, but this is something for burgundy lovers. You get the idea.” (Walter Speller)

Mezzatinta 2019 – 16.5 / 20 – “Very pale salmon. A nose that is immediately recognisable as Nebbiolo with perfumed hints of cherry and raspberry and classic spicy undertones. Nervy, fresh and with a lemony twist on the finish. There is no hurry to drink this up. A very good rosato and surely has the potential to go a little bit more off-piste in future vintages. I, for one, would love to see this fermented in small casks, but others looking for a fine, linear style of rosés might disagree. Screwcap and beautiful label, and a wine that was really given time in the cellar, the whole oozes class and would look effortlessly cool at a top restaurant. This rocks!” (Walter Speller)

January 2022 – Tintaunita 2019 & Mezzatinta 2019 reviewed from Fass Selections

Tintaunita 2019 – “Complex and serene. A gorgeous nose. Just awesome. You will not believe how velvety, balanced, pure, textured and sweet this is. It’s just genius.” (Lyle Fass)

Mezzatinta 2019 – “This is perhaps the best Nebbiolo rose I’ve ever had. Just a stunning wine. This is such a superb rose and really revelatory. I love how the Nebbiolo character and structure is not sacrificed to get the wine to be a rose. It’s got the tar, the earthy character and the tannins. It’s almost like a red wine.” (Lyle Fass)

April 2021 – Mezzatinta’s label awarded at the “Rosé & Sparkling wines challenge” by Fedrigoni

“The labels, a hymn to nature and metamorphosis — both in man and in earth, in soil and wine, gently wrap the bottles with a rough texture of an actual leaf from Vigneti Costacurta’s vineyards. On Materica Gesso Ultra WS, a natural paper made with cotton, recycled fibers, and pure cellulose.“

October 2020 – First bottles for sale (Tintaunita 2019 and Mezzatinta 2019)

September & October 2019 – Our first vintage