Marche Rosso IGT

Pelago

First vintage: 1994

Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Indigenous grape from the Conero Area

Marche, Conero

Pelago joined the list of the most sought-after Italian wines in the world in 1997, with its first year of production, when it won the Best Red Wine trophy at the International Wine Challenge in London.

Pelago is the result of the insight of our technical group, who had the idea of mating Montepulciano with Cabernet Sauvignon. It is a wine which retains the style and personality of the indigenous grapes while broadening its aromatic profile and complexity by adding qualities of the Bordeaux style of wine. To maintain a high standard of quality, we chose to produce it only in those years which provided grapes suitable for a fine wine. The name Pelago, deriving from pelagos, meaning ‘sea’ in ancient Greek, suggests its marine character and the special qualities of taste and aroma which are typical of wines produced near the coast.

Characteristics

DENOMINATION

Marche Rosso IGT

GRAPE VARIETIES

Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Indigenous grape from the Conero Area

AREA OF PRODUCTION

Marche, Conero

VINEYARD

The vineyard from which Pelago originates is situated on our estate in the municipality of Osimo, at about 100-150 meters above sea level, on a south-east- facing hillside. The terrain, which started out as marine formations from the Pleiocene-Pleistocene era, consists of very deep soil, a very deep, chalky clay loams.

YIELD PER HECTARE

The yield is limited by very close pruning and targeted thinning, and can vary from five to 5-7 tons per hectare according to the season.

HARVEST

The grapes are picked by hand, and collected and transported in boxes. Harvesting starts at the beginning of September with the Merlot, continues at the end of the month with the Cabernet Sauvignon, and finishes with the Montepulciano, a fairly late variety, in October, when the grapes have reached peak condition with an advanced degree of phenolic ripening.

VINIFICATION

The grapes are destalked and lightly crushed, then fermented at 27-29°C in steel fermentation tanks, with the cap submerged, for 14-15 days on natural yeasts.

AGING

Once the malolactic fermentation has taken place, the wine is transferred to 225 litre oak barrels for ageing, for a period of 14 months. After bottling, Pelago is left to age further, in a temperature-controlled environment, for about 12 months.

AVAILABLE FORMATS

75 cl, 1.5, 3 litre bottles

Tasting

COLOR

Inky ruby red tinged with purple hints.

SCENT

The nose unfurls a typical Cabernet profile of intense, clean, refined spice notes of coffee, black pepper, liquorice and tobacco against a backdrop of grass and hay.

TASTE

The mouth unfurls forest berries, vanilla and mineral aromas, and noticeable but mature tannins all in harmony with the wine’s elegance.

PAIRINGS

A perfect match for red meat, game-birds and mature cheese.

SERVING GLASS

A large glass, with a fairly broad body. This allows the correct oxygenation of red wines which have had long ageing in bottle and whose tannins have taken on a softer character, developing complex tertiary aromas which will be well-concentrated in the narrower opening of the glass.