La Stoppa Ageno Bianco 2020

La Stoppa Ageno Bianco 2020

La Stoppa
$50.00

Grape: Malvasia di Candia Aromatica, Ortrugo, Trebbiano Toscano
Vintage: 2020
Type: Orange

This natural orange wine is an artisanal field blend of ninety percent malvasia di candia aromatica with ortrugo and trebbiano toscano. Winemaker Elena Pantaleoni sources the fruit from co-planted thirty-year-old vines grown on clay-silt soils. The hand-harvested grapes undergo a spontaneous fermentation driven by native wild yeasts with four months of skin maceration. It matures for two years in large Slavonian oak botti before an unfiltered, zero-sulfur bottling.

It displays a hazy amber-gold color, releasing distinctive aromatics of dried apricot, orange marmalade, candied citrus, and sweet baking spice. On the palate, a medium-to-full-bodied frame pairs stone fruit flavors with a gentle, tea-like tannin structure from the extended skin contact. A fine phenolic grip frames the mid-palate cleanly, balanced by a sharp beam of mineral acidity. Subtle notes of raw hazelnut and wild thyme add depth across the textured mouthfeel. It finishes completely bone-dry.

La Stoppa is an old winery in Emilia Romagna originally founded by a wealthy lawyer in the late 1800's.  Elena Pantaleoni's father purchased the vineyards back in the early 70's.  Elena eventually took the estate over and in 1996 she and head wine maker Giulio Armani decided to replant the entire 32 hectare estate with traditional grape varieties: Barbera and Bonarda.  At some point in the past the vineyards had been replanted with international varieties but Elena and Giulio felt those grapes just didn't handle Emilia's climate as well as the native grapes did.  That decision to turn their backs on modern commercial winemaking set them on a path to focus more and more on local traditional wine making. 

The farming has been organic since the early 1990's; certification came in 2008.  Elena Pantaleoni, a dedicated, intelligent and passionate grower, works closely with her enologist Giulio Armani to craft wines expressive of place and grape. Work in the cellar is minimal. Fermentation is entirely with native yeasts; maceration with skins is lengthy; little to no sulfur is used; wines are aged in a range of  Slavonian oak botti and used French barriques; reds are not filtered before bottling; and bottle aging is extended. Elena eschews any DOC classifications, choosing the IGT path instead; she feels that the DOC regulations are too broad in terms of permitted varieties, geographical bounds and production techniques, and not conducive to thoughtful, artisanal winegrowing and winemaking, the priority at the La Stoppa estate.