1998 Cerbaiona Brunello di Montalcino DOCG

Hands on, artisan winemaking starts with the separation of vineyard blocks and specific rows. Selection tables and a high tech, paddle destemmer ensure the best berries are selected and kept in pristine condition. They are transferred, without any crushing, into open top, wood tanks, varying in size from 15HL, 25HL, and 30HL. Fermentation is allowed to occur naturally with indigenous yeasts. For the first week of fermentation, to avoid over extraction and ensure more elegant wines, pump-overs are limited to an absolute minimum, while the caps are punched down manually. Press wine is kept separate from free run and the new wines undergo malolactic in the same, upright wood tanks used for fermentation. The wines are then left on the fine lees, occasionally stirred, until spring.

The wines are then transferred to Slavonian oaks casks - like the fermentation tanks, hand crafted by master coopers Klaus and Jacob Pauscha - ranging in size from 10HL, 17HL and 20HL. Minimal racking is used during the 30 months in cask.