di Marzo. Greco di Tufo Riserva 'Vigna Ortale'

Greco di Tufo DOCG Riserva
Grape: Greco

2021: Lemon, quinine and orange peel, salt, and pineapple. A serious, genius of a wine which seems to float just above this earth.  13.5%

2019:  An intense, finely textured, bone dry white, that hints at tropical fruit, white peach and hay. This Ortale has such energy, crazy good wine.  13.5%

Link to Cantine di Marzo producer page

Ortale is a very particular ‘Cru’ or ‘Monopolio’ (single, small vineyard site of note). It faces south-southwest and is at an altitude of 350 metres within the commune of San Lucia. The soils are sparse clays with broken limestone and sulphur; the neighbouring woodland makes for rich biodiversity. Ortale has the highest content of volcanic rock. In Ferrante’s opinion, Ortale is ‘the dreamer’, a wine with ethereal quality.
The vines were planted in 2008 and 2012 using a Guyot training system, unfashionably spacious 3000 vines per hectare, yielding a respectable 70hl/ha.
The grapes are harvested by hand in the middle of October, these are amongst the last of the white grapes to be picked in Italy. The crop is de-stemmed before a gentle pressing, only the free-run juice is used. Fermentation is in temperature-controlled steel tanks with selected yeasts. The wine remains on the lees* for 9 months, during this period the wine goes through a malolactic conversion*. The wine is lightly filtered before bottling, it is then stored in ancient underground cellars for at least a year.