Avignonesi Desiderio Merlot 2020

The Merlot Desiderio is produced in the cellars of Avignonesi, founded in 1974 in the noble town of Montepulciano by the historic family whose name it still bears today. The turning point came in 2009 when Virginie Saverys acquired the company to reclassify and downsize it. Today the company has grown to 175 hectares divided between Montepulciano and Cortona, becoming one of the leading companies in biodynamic viticulture in Italy. The union of one of the most The production of high-quality wines with sustainable and pure viticulture has led the company to become one of the most appreciated realities in the Tuscan and Italian panorama.

Avignonesi Desiderio bears the name of a bull that lived on the Avignonesi Capezzine farm more than a century ago, and was considered the largest bull in Tuscany and helped define the Chianina cattle breed, the famous Florentine steak. Produced purely from Merlot grapes harvested between the end of August and the beginning of September, grown on soil composed of fluvial sediment and clay, for the part of the grapes grown in Cortona, while clay and silty for the remaining part coming from Montepulciano. From the harvest to the arrival in the cellar, located on the Lodola estate, the grapes are preserved as much as possible to avoid any type of external intervention and safeguard the berries as much as possible. The vinification is very delicate, in fact each batch is fermented and matured separately to maximize the characteristics of the grapes. The fermentation lasts between two and three weeks at a controlled temperature in stainless steel vats, where maceration on the skins also takes place, with the addition of indigenous yeasts, while the malolactic fermentation is carried out in wood. The aging, which takes place once the final blend has been assembled, takes place in 225-liter oak barrels for 20 months to gain the typical strong structure of Merlot and the peculiar explosion of flavor.