FARNEA
L’Arietta 2019
Veneto, Italy
Named after the wind which cools the valley he calls home, this is a refreshingly original take on Merlot. Fermented on skins for a couple of weeks and aged in old barrels for eight months it is all red fruits, earth, herbs and brine. A wine to make the most of autumn’s larder, it screams for some wild mushrooms or a nice joint of meat.
Merlot
ABOUT THE PRODUCER
Marco Buratti’s Azienda Agricola Farnea occupies around two hectares of vines and three hectares of woodlands in a particularly beautiful part of the Colli Euganei National Park.
The land here has been planted with grapes since the eighteenth century, when the vignaioli of old were drawn to the area’s fertile volcanic soils. Marco’s vines are worked by hand without the use of chemicals, a way of working he had decided on before clearing the forest to plant vines here in 2003.
The cantina consists of a small room at the edge of Marco’s house strewn with concrete and fibreglass vats, old barrels and not a lot else. These tools, along with the grapes, are all Marco uses to make wines, there is nothing added at any stage.
These are amongst the most vibrant wines we have found in Italy and once opened, a bottle does not last long. We only wish he made a little more.