“Oratorio di San Lorenzo” Carménère Riserva Colli Berici DOC 2018

Inama | Veneto
Soc. Agr. di Inama Giuseppe s.s. | Località Biacche 50 | IT 37047 San Bonifacio

03342718 · 0,75 l · 132,00 €/l · Price (DE) incl. VAT, excl. Shipping< 24 units available
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There are places in this world that seem destined by a higher power to produce the extraordinary. The Oratorio di San Lorenzo is one such place – a small valley nestled in the rolling hills of the Colli Berici, where monks have lived in silent contemplation for centuries and where Stefano Inama has now completed his life's work. Here, in the shadow of a small 16th century chapel dedicated to St Laurence, only the very best vintages produce a wine that is more than any other: Oratorio di San Lorenzo – inama's red masterpiece and perhaps the purest expression of Carménère outside Chile. The story of this wine is one of vision and passion. When Stefano Inama decided to add red wines to his white empire in the late 1990s, chance led him to a sip from a nameless glass – that legendary moment of "love at first taste" that changed his life. The wine came from Carménère grapes, the almost forgotten Bordeaux variety that had been brought to the iron-rich red soils of the Colli Berici by French emigrants in the mid-19th century. Stefano immediately recognised the potential of this grape variety on this special terroir and acquired the twelve-hectare valley around the Oratorio in two tranches – an investment in the future that proved to be brilliant.

The terroir of the Oratorio di San Lorenzo is geologically unique: layers of limestone alternate with fine red clay – the characteristic terra rossa formed by the oxidation of iron-rich sediments. The vineyard, completely exposed to the south and laid out like a natural sun trap, is surrounded by unspoilt forests, which not only provide organic substances from limestone and clay, but also ensure the dramatic temperature fluctuations that give the Carménère its unique personality. Hot during the day, refreshingly cool at night – these natural temperature extremes create ideal conditions for the slow, even ripening of the late-ripening Carménère grapes. Since 2009, when Inama launched the new DOC "Colli Berici Carménère Riserva" with the Oratorio, he has been the only winemaker in Europe with such a focussed Carménère project. The transformation of the winery reached a new dimension with the collaboration with Stéphane Derenoncourt from 2017: the Oenologist oenologist from Bordeaux helped to find the balance between strength and elegance, between territorial authenticity and international class.

The 2020 Oratorio di San Lorenzo presents itself in a deep, almost opaque carmine red colour with violet reflections. The bouquet is a revelation: intense aromas of black berries blend with notes of cocoa, black pepper and exotic spices, while a hint of graphite and tobacco emphasise the complexity. A wine of monumental structure unfolds on the palate: full-bodied and powerful, yet never heavy, with velvety tannins that reveal perfect phenolic maturity. Aromas of plums, dark chocolate and a hint of liquorice lead to an endless final of rare length and harmony. The label – a dancer balancing on a ball and turning from the church to God, who offers her a heart – symbolises the duality between the sacred and the profane, for which the wine is a perfect metaphor. Oratorio di San Lorenzo 2020 is more than just a Carménère – it is Inama's spiritual testament, a wine that expresses the soul of a place and the passion of a life's work in the best possible way. SUPERIORE.DE