Vernero – Vermentino Nero

VERNERO
The Vermentino Nero is an exclusive grape of the Apuan area, in Northern Tuscany.
It had sadly been abandoned by the improvised wine makers of the post-war period, although it continued to be remembered with affections by their fathers and grandfathers. When my own father introduced this grape variety to me, even I didn’t take it into consideration.

However, in 1987 my friend Fucigna asked me to make a wine purely out of the vermentino nero grapes. I was quiete sceptical but took up the challange out of curiosity.

So in 1989 Vermentino Nero wine came to life. This new undertaking spurred me to research other grapes that may be similar or attached in some way – but I could not find any likely candidates.
I took my research further to study making red wines in a typical white wine area, and also the ageing of wines where the area only produce wines to be drunk young.
What emerged demonstrated the contradiction in character of a wine which I wanted to make with a pure grape variety rather than the ancient culture that blended grapes both in the wineyard and the cellar.

This was an unusual and new way of thinking. Once I had selected some suitable biotypes we carefully began to plant new wineyards.
Vermentino Nero wine is easy to produce. The perfect grapes produce lowyield per hectare but with utmost concentration in flavour.
The long maceration and ageing in barrels with continual sensorial control, bottling and refining in the bottle is achieved almost on an academic scale. But this simple and accurate method gives a long lasting wine with a density in the bouquet, the inky black colour and the warm full and soft taste. In fact the perfect complement to food as well as just drinking on its own.
TASTING NOTES:
COLOUR: red ruby, crystalline with a good consistence
BOUQUET:  intense and persistent, with ample yielded (marasca, blackberry, blueberry), with floral note of broom, good toasting of coffee with memory of vanilla.
PALATE: persuasive softness due to the good wine’s elements, (alcohol, glycerine, acidity, tannins, flavour) in equilibrium between them, good body with excellent persistence.
FINAL: overall harmonic and therefore perfect for important and juicy main course; red meat and seasoned cheese.