Those at the heart of the Donne Fittipaldi company – Maria Fittipaldi Menarini and her four daughters Carlotta, Giulia, Serena and Valentina, along with enologist Emiliano Falsini – have decided to create a wine of great personality, by reinterpreting a traditional, “ancestral” winemaking practice.
Thus “5” is being launched: the new label from Donne Fittipaldi, the first “Ancestral” wine from Bolgheri, an area in which – up until now – no one had dared to make a bubbly wine. Donne Fittipaldi, though, is an estate that is anything but predictable and which does not content itself to follow well-traveled paths. “5” is a perfect expression of this desire to explore new avenues.
«This magnificent region is an inexhaustible source of stimulation for us. Each year that passes we feel more at one with it, and we now want to interpret the sensations that we feel through our own, new mode of expression», explains Maria Fittipaldi Menarini.
“5” is a rosé, made from Malbec grapes, re-fermented naturally in the bottle (without the addition of any sugar). It is lightly “pétillant”. This variety has been chosen because it has the quality of maintaining good acidity.
It is no accident that “5” is being launched with the 2018 vintage, a cool year that displayed all the ideal characteristics for producing a high-quality wine using the “Metodo Ancestrale”.
The grapes are harvested by hand at the end of August, when their sugar levels are still low: this allows one to have a modest degree of alcohol, so that a second fermentation can also take place. Early harvesting ensures that the wine has good natural acidity and an attractive freshness, indispensable in this type of wine.
Once the grapes have been picked, they are given a gentle pressing. The must is clarified by means of simple cold settling for two days and then partially fermented at a controlled temperature of about 16°C, until it has reached an alcohol content of around 9% vol., but has still enough residual sugar to guarantee a second fermentation.
Once it has been bottled and brought back to sixteen degrees Centigrade, the sugar that remains, together with the yeasts it still contains, will allow it to undergo a second fermentation, creating carbon dioxide that will remain imprisoned in the bottle.
The Ancestral Method permits the wine to evolve over time, giving it a markedly complex taste profile and great personality.
“5” is not disgorged, so it remains a little cloudy and, on the nose, one can enjoy its hints of crusty bread (due to the presence of the yeasts) as well as floral and fruity notes.
In the Classic/Traditional and Charmat methods the initial base is a dry wine, to which sugar is added. In this case, the Metodo Classico’s procedure of re-fermentation in bottle is also followed, starting off though with a wine in which a certain amount of sugar has been retained.
“5” reveals another aspect of Bolgheri, which is just as seductive and charismatic as that of the zone’s famous reds. It is a voice that stands out from the crowd. Listening to it carefully, one discovers a new idiom that reveals characteristics of a terroir that are as yet unexplored and still have the power to amaze.
Donne Fittipaldi will be present at Vinitaly in Verona from 7th to 10th April, in Hall D, Booth D4.
