Calcarius Brutal! Vino Rosso 2019 750ml

2019 marks the inaugural offering from Valentina of the exclusive ‘Brutal!’ bottling. She was invited to make this wine in late 2018 as it the honor was bestowed by another ‘Brutal!’ winemaker (which is the only way to become part of the club) and was excited to have her über-raw wine alongside names such as Christian Tschida,, Gut Oggau, Mother Rock, Pirouette, and l’Octavin (amongst others). The only caveat for a ‘Brutal!’ bottling is that it much be experimental and unique compared to the rest of the lineup and it must be ‘0/0’ or made without any additions nor anything removed. Valentina knew she wanted to make Nero di Troia be the focus as it is the indigenous red grape of her homeland and being able to showcase it in a distinctive and special manner made it all the more compelling.

The fruit was hand-harvested and fermented without any additions, entirely whole-cluster, in open-top vats. Following eight days of skin contact the cap was manually broken and a few hours of continual punchdowns ensued to extract the optimum amount of tannin and color. The wine was then pressed to stainless-steel tank for maturation and was bottled eight months later without fining, filtration or any sulfur addition.