Organic. 100% Lambrusco Ruberti. 100% destemmed, three-four days of maceration depending on vintage, pressed in a small vertical basket press. The fruit is taken from two parcels, totaling around one hectare only, on very sandy and limestone-driven soils. Vine age between five to fifteen years. The wine ferments and settles in steel tanks throughout the winter; in spring at bottling, fresh juice/must is added to trigger refermentation (the traditional Italian rifermentato style). Unfined, unfiltered; the only SO2 added is a tiny amount in the pied de cuve used to prompt primary fermentation. This Lambrusco has delicate floral aromas, black brambly fruit, and acidity and minerality that cut like dual knives. There are only two or three others in Italy with anything like the drive and finesse of this wine.
Organic. 100% Lambrusco Sorbara. This very special Metodo Classico Rosato is drawn from just one small parcel of around .4ha of Sorbara, or roughly 2,000 vines. It’s done direct press to transmit only the faintest bit of color, and, as vignaiolo Pasini puts it, to render only ‘the soul of the soil.’ The press is a vertical basket press; primary fermentation happens with a pied de cuve derived of white grapes (late-hanging Garganega); after the wine settles in tank through the winter, it’s bottled in spring with a standard liqueur de tirage to trigger secondary fermentation. Disgorgement happens between 18-30 months, depending. This is the third in the trio of jeweled, intensely mineral-driven wines at Villa Picta—with rosy, delicate aromatics and light berry notes that soften the blade of Sorbara. An ageworthy wine, the tiniest production at the winery.
Organic. 50% Marzemino, 50% Merlot. The fruit here is drawn from the same single parcel of vines, one a bit farther from the Villa Picta cantina called ‘San Bartolomeo,’ which winemaker Paolo Pasini planted himself in 2017. On this plot, the soils have significantly less limestone than everything else at Villa Picta; it’s very sandy soils with a solid base of clay—Pasini calls it ‘his Gironde.’ The two varieties, native Marzemino and Venetian/Bordelaise Merlot, are vinified separately; both are destemmed and pressed in a vertical basket press, then transferred to stainless steel tanks. After the wines ferment via pied de cuve and are macerated for about two weeks, they settle for the winter, then are put together in roughly a 50/50 blend. This still red wine displays earthen, pure fruit, as well as the same freshness and minerality that’s in the Lambrusco; it’s one of the three most terroir-evocative wines Villa Picta produces.
Organic. 40% Garganega, 40% Pinot Bianco, 20% Malvasia di Candia. ‘Melampo’ is a wine of balance, one where the idea is to blend three varieties found in the region but not often found together: Pinot Bianco lends a fruit base, Garganega sapidity and structure, and Malvasia a bit of ‘happiness,’ or aromatics. Here, the Pinot Bianco is vinified separately, as the harvest of this variety is earlier, and the Garganega and Malvasia are cofermented and vinified together; all are done direct press in a vertical basket press, then raised in steel tanks. After settling throughout winter, the lots are blended together; at bottling in spring, fresh juice/must is added to create bubbles (the traditional Italian rifermentato method). Unfined, unfiltered; the only SO2 added is a tiny amount in the pied de cuve used to prompt primary ferment. A joyful wine, with great acidity, balance, and easy lift.
Organic. 70% Lambrusco Sorbara, 30% Pinot Meunier. This is perhaps vignaiolo Paolo’s most experimental wine, or the least traditional—Pinot Meunier is the interloper; Sorbara the steely frame. These two varieties are vinified separately, as the Pinot grapes are harvested nearly three weeks earlier than the Sorbara; both are pressed in a vertical basket press, but the Meunier is harvested at a point that has nearly-overripe maturity. Élevage in stainless steel, blending after a settling period in steel tanks in winter; fresh juice/must are used for refermentation at bottling in spring to spark bubbles. Pasini says he wanted something a bit more playful or distinct from the bracing, knifelike qualities of his core wines, so this rosato rifermentato was born of an effort to lean into robust fruit while still retaining the hallmark of the cantina. (Side fact: ‘Mangiafuoco’ is the name of the puppetmaster in the original Italian tale of Pinocchio. It has nothing to do with Metallica in this instance.)