“Empatia” Merlot Costa Toscana IGT 2020 (BIO) · MAGNUM in OWC

Ampeleia | Tuscany
Ampeleia s.a. s.r.l. | Loc. Meleta | IT 58028 Roccatederighi

09922720 · 1,5 l · 152,67 €/l · Price (DE) incl. VAT, excl. Shipping< 24 units available

Empatia. A wine name that describes neither a grape variety, nor a terroir, nor a style. Rather, it describes an attitude. The ability to put oneself in someone else’s shoes – into the soil, into the vine, into the moment of harvest. An attitude that suits a winery which calls itself ‘Gentle Souls’ and for which biodynamics is not a certification, but a way of life. Merlot at 500 metres. In the volcanic and calcareous soils of the Colline Metallifere, where the heat has a different quality to that of the flat Maremma coastal plains, where the nights are cooler and the winds blow down from the Metallifere hills. 30 hectolitres per hectare – the same radical yield restriction as for the Ampeleia Cabernet Franc. Cordone speronato. Harvest in the third week of September. Then the most unusual decision in the cellar: whole berries. Not whole bunches with stems – whole berries – the individual, undamaged berry. An extraction method that gives the wine a freshness and an inner tension that crushed grapes can never produce.

12 months in concrete vats. Then bottling – the only one possible. Magnum only. No more than 500 Magnums per vintage. In other words, a wine that’s virtually impossible to find. The 2020 vintage will be released in 2026. Six years. Just like the Ampeleia Cabernet Franc from the same vintage – the estate is in no hurry. The Empatia will be released when it is ready.

A deep ruby red with violet highlights. The bouquet offers a freshness not found in any Bordeaux Merlot: wild berries, violets, balsamic notes and minerality from the rocks of the Colline Metallifera. Concentrated on the palate with a silky texture, well-integrated tannins and a long, cool, mineral final. This is pure empathy in a glass – for all those who know how to listen. SUPERIORE.DE