The Marchesi Frescobaldi rosé celebrates its first 10 harvests
MAGLIANO, Italy, April 9, 2024 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- 2023 marks a true milestone for Alìe: its 10th vintage. The first, released in 2014, was reason enough for celebration, but for the current release, Marchesi Frescobaldi is celebrating its rosé by dedicating to it a poetic piece: the Alìade.
The rosé in question is the icon of Tenuta Ammiraglia, on Tuscany's Maremma coast, a blend of the international Syrah and the native Vermentino grape.
"When we first set foot on the Ammiraglia estate, we listened intently to every aspect of the terroir and realized immediately that in the heart of the Maremma, in this 'more modern and more Mediterranean' Tuscany, we were immersed in a growing area with magnificent potential for producing quality wines and that it was our responsibility to respect what the surrounding natural beauty was whispering in our ear," explained Marchesi Frescobaldi President Lamberto Frescobaldi. "Here on the Tenuta Ammiraglia, the vineyards design intriguing geometrical shapes across the hillslopes as they descend to the waters of the Tyrrhenian Sea. The quantity of sunlight is unbelievably abundant, partnering with the sea breezes to create particularly favorable conditions for the production of structured wines with generous aromatics. Today, we regard with great pride the decision we made to produce these two rosés, Cru Aurea Gran Rosé and Alìe. Celebrating their first ten vintages, we realize how much we have been able to accomplish, yet at the same time this represents a renewed stimulus to continue along this path of pursuing our mission of Cultivating Toscana Diversity."
In sum, Alìe is the perfect example of how listening to the complex qualities of an exceptional terroir—partnered with innovation and long-time expertise in winegrowing—can lead to the accomplishment of great objectives.
The secret of Alìe's distinctive personality and subtle pink hue that continues to intrigue is precisely its proximity to the sea, just 15 kilometres from the vineyard. The maritime influence from the sea allows the Syrah at Tenuta Ammiraglia to ripen evenly and gradually, and this encourages optimal pigment extraction from the skins. In addition, the Vermentino stabilises the anthocyanins of the Syrah, enabling them to retain their effects over time.
Marchesi Frescobaldi, in paying tribute to the ten years of its rosé, as well as to the nymph that inspired its name has dedicated to it a poetic passage, the Alìade, (or Aliad):
'NINFA DEL MARE, ANIMO GENTILE, ALÌE LA SUA ISOLA DOVEVA CUSTODIRE. E GUAI, COME TENEVA AL SUO MARE. QUANDO I MARINAI SFIORAVANO LE COSTE, LEI LI OSSERVAVA NAVIGARE. POI, INCANTEVOLE COM'ERA, LI ACCOMPAGNAVA PER UN TRATTO, FACEVA LORO COMPAGNIA, REGALAVA UNA RISATA. AL TERMINE DEL VIAGGIO OFFRIVA UN ELISIR SUBLIME. E MENTRE LORO SI PERDEVANO NEL ROSA, LEI NELLA SUA ISOLA TORNAVA'.
ALÌE 2023
Alìe 2023 appears a distinctive, subtle pink. The bouquet is markedly complex, offering impressions of citrus, nectarine, and floral scents of peony and dried rose petals, which gradually segue into fragrant herbs, such as thyme, sage, and rosemary, and finally conclude with a slight tang of briny iodide. The aromas on the mid-palate closely mirror those encountered on the nose, complemented by an appealing crispness and pronounced savouriness.
The fresh-picked clusters are brought immediately to the cellar, to ensure that they preserve all their important qualities. One of the key moments in the production of Alìe is the pressing stage. The whole clusters are loaded into the press in an oxygen-free environment, then they are subjected to an extremely gentle, delicate pressing. The resultant musts are painstaking quality-graded, then gravity-settled for clarity for not less than 12 hours. The combination of these steps guarantees the one-of-a-kind character of this rosé. Fermentation of the various lots is at less than 19oC in stainless steel fermenters. Following several months' maceration on the fine lees, the rosé is bottle-aged before release.
Ushering in the 2023 growing year was a mild winter bringing abundant rainfall, falling primarily in December and January. Further rainfall in March and April allowed the vines to develop dense, vigorous canopies, ensuring excellent vegetation development. Warm summer temperatures and good groundwater reserves encouraged fine cluster growth, while significant day-night temperature differentials favoured impressive accumulations of aromatic precursors in the berries. Sun-filled days during the harvest period meant that the grapes were picked at peak ripeness. In the end, all these factors translated into structured wines with eloquent aromatic expression.
TENUTA AMMIRAGLIA
Tenuta Ammiraglia, which opened its doors in 2011, is the most modern and Mediterranean face of Tuscany. It lies in Magliano, in the heart of the Tuscan Maremma, a zone now world-famous for its innate ability to produce wines of extraordinary quality, and for its stunning, uncontaminated natural beauty. The wine cellar, designed by architect Piero Sartogo, is perfectly integrated into its surrounding environment while the vineyards design fanciful geometric shapes on the hillsides as they slope down to the shore of the Tyrrhenian Sea. Plenteous amounts of light combine with the marine breezes to create a particularly favourable environment for high-quality viticulture. In order to further increase the unique productive qualities of the terroir, a pond was created to catch rainwater, which irrigates the vineyards during the driest months. The combination of all these factors gives the wines of Tenuta Ammiraglia their exceptional aromatic range and intensity, qualities unique in the Maremma.
MARCHESI FRESCOBALDI
Marchesi Frescobaldi's mission is to understand and promote distinctive terroirs, contributing to their becoming inseparable components of the culture of Toscana. The thousand years of Frescobaldi family history constitute an unmatchable treasure of experience, knowledge, and traditions that have made it the embodiment of Toscana's very soul, and the visible expression of its extraordinary vocation for viticulture and of the fascinating variety of its production areas.
Marchesi Frescobaldi's nine wine estates are: Castello Pomino (Pomino), Castello Nipozzano (Nipozzano), Tenuta Perano (Gaiole in Chianti), Tenuta Castiglioni (Montespertoli), Tenuta CastelGiocondo (Montalcino), Tenuta Ammiraglia (Magliano in Toscana), Remole (Sieci), Tenuta Calimaia (Montepulciano), and Gorgona. Located in growing areas of Tuscany long-famed for production of extremely high-quality DOC, DOCG, and IGT wines, each estate stands out for its individual soils, environment, and history; Ornellaia and Masseto in Bolgheri, Tenuta Luce in Montalcino, Domaine Roy & Fils in Oregon, and Attems in the Collio are the four other estates of the Marchesi Frescobaldi Group.
Media Contact
Noemi Mengo, Colangelo & Partners, (646) 624-2885, [email protected]
SOURCE Marchesi Frescobaldi
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