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Ilmerlot

Perfection stems from continuous effort. You can anticipate that some grapes are going to be beautiful, just like a promise of happiness. This happens when nature, the terroir, and the sun are in perfect – perhaps unique – alignment. When this happens, you can only accept the challenge to strive for perfection . It comes from a desire not to waste the exceptional chance, the magic of that coincidence, and aim for the very best. There's a drive to keep that promise, creating the best-balanced, most elegant, expressive and long-lived wine. Ilmerlot is only produced in the best vintages for Merlot grapes. Our first special vintage was 1990. Then we decided to wait for the next outstanding harvest, exceptional enough for the Merlot grapes to lend themselves to making a varietal wine: the miracle happened again in 2001, 2003, and 2009. Thanks to prolonged skin contact and aging for 10 months in barriques, the wine has developed a superb deep garnet colour, intense ripe red fruit flavours, and a combination of complexity and subtlety which supports its particularly fine tannins.

Data sheet

2009

2009 2003 2001 1990

Designation
Sebino Rosso Merlot I.G.T.

Grape varieties
Merlot 100%.

Vineyards of provenance
Three Merlot vineyards planted an average of 31 years ago located in the municipalities of Cazzago San Martino and Passirano.

Harvest period
15 September 2009..

Average yield per hectare
8,700 kilograms of grapes, equivalent to 4,960 litres of wine (must-to-fruit ratio 57%).

Vinification
The Merlot grapes from the three best vineyards are picked by hand, using small cases, and then quickly graded and chilled. Each bunch is selected by expert cellar staff before being transported over the maceration vat. Destemming causes the berries to fall into the vat from above by gravity. This avoids the traditional pumping systems that would produce unwanted herbaceous aromas. At the 2009 harvest, alcoholic fermentation and maceration took 21 days, with careful monitoring of temperature and punch-downs. Pump-overs were performed daily using a pair of lift tanks in which the wine, drawn off from the bottom of the vat, is transferred by gravity. The wine is lifted by the flying tanks and poured into the high-capacity vat to submerge the cap. There is no more natural or effective way of delicately extracting colour and tannins. The still-warm wine is drawn into 65%-new small oak casks from selected wood seasoned for at least three years. Maturation lasts for a total of 20 months, after which the wine is bottled naturally by gravity flow. Innovative bottling systems ensure that the wine is not subjected to oxidative stress or disturbance, and that no further sulphites are added. Integrity and healthfulness are guaranteed. Finally, every bottle is given an individual marking to ensure its traceability.

Bottling
29 July 2011.

Bottle ageing
Four years and nine months.

Data at bottling
Alcohol 13.5% Vol.; pH 3.45; Total Acidity 4.80 grams/litre; Volatile Acidity 0.45 grams/litre.

Sulphites
Total Sulphur Dioxide less than 47 milligrams/litre (maximum legal limit: 150 milligrams/litre).