FARNEA
L’Ombra 2020 [1L]
Veneto, Italy
This iconic litre bottle is filled with a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot from vines up to fifty years old. The grapes are fermented as whole bunches for a week, before being pressed off to cement until the end of November. The resulting wine is a gorgeous, hazy watermelon pink, with soaring aromas of wild strawberries. It is a wine that hums with life and served chilled, a litre will not last long.
Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, 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.