Michele Chiarlo 'La Court' Riserva 2021

95 Points - Wien Enthusiast VINTAGE: 2021 PRODUCER’S VINTAGE NOTES: “Snow has finally fallen. The earlier part of the year has seen rain and snow, which piled up to a height of 60cm among the vineyards of Langhe. March has not experienced rain and temperatures have always settled above average, prompting an early start of vegetation. Such conditions led us to expect another early and hot vintage, but we would be proven wrong. April and May were cooler than usual, slowing down the vine’s vegetative development. In mid-May, the vintage seemed to be a late one: the vines were growing slowly, temperatures were quite low during the night and the wind was always cold. In the first week of June all varieties were in full bloom, with some Nebbiolo and Barbera grapes already forming. The last two weeks of the month had been hot, characterized by temperatures within seasonal average and storms that brought 20-30 mm of rainfall. June marked the beginning of a long, hot (but not torrid) and dry summer that lasted until September, which was distinguished by milder temperatures during the day. The last two weeks of August were dedicated to the thinning of the lushest vineyards. Harvest was carried out during the usual period (from September 20 to 24) yielding healthy and outstandingly ripe grapes that reached utterly perfect yet extremely rare conditions Despite the significant climatic variations experienced in spring, 2021 turned out to be an outstanding vintage thanks to the excellent weather conditions that followed. La Court 2021 will long be remembered as a vintage distinguished by outstanding structure, depth, complexity, and potential for aging.” Stefano Chiarlo, winemaker GRAPE VARIETY: Barbera MUNICIPALITY: Castelnuovo Calcea FIRST VINTAGE PRODUCED: 1996 VINEYARD: La Court SURFACE AREA OF THE VINEYARD: 3 Ha YEAR PLANTED: 1976 SOIL: called the ‘astiane sands’’, it consists of calcareous clay marl of sedimentary marine origin, with good presence of lime and sand, rich in microelements, in particular magnesium VINEYARD EXPOSURE: the best exposures facing south / south-southwest VINEYARD ELEVATION: 240 AMSL. METHOD OF CULTIVATION: Guyot VINES PER HECTARE: approximately 5,000 YIELD: very low yield; thinning of excess bunches at end of summer, leaving an average of 5/6 bunches per vine SUSTAINABILITY CERTIFICATION: Equalitas HARVEST: manual harvest VINIFICATION: fermentation for 15 days in 55 hl oak vats with the skins, with a soft “shower” system of wetting the cap at a temperature between 30°C / 27°C. Malolactic vat fermentation REFINEMENT: 30 months in total. Depending on the vintage, most of it in large barrels, the remaining part in barriques for 1 year. A period of 18 months refinement in the bottle follows. COLOUR: purple with brilliant ruby hues NOSE: ample, intense, elegant with notes of black cherry, cocoa and coffee TASTE: very good structure, fresh, velvety with a long, silky finish ACCOMPANIES: agnolotti with a wild rabbit sauce, tagliolini with porcini, roasted veal and well-matured cheeses SERVING TEMPERATURE: 18° C BOTTLE SIZES: 0,