Calalta Monsaulente 2017

Calalta is a small, minimal-intervention estate in the Veneto, in the foothill country between meadow and forest at the foot of Monte Grappa in northern Italy. Monsaulente is its more serious red, a Cabernet Franc and Merlot blend grown on red clay, limestone and soils rich in organic matter, with the fruit hand-selected and the vines farmed with nature as the guide. That clay holds water and gives body and depth, while the limestone brings freshness and a mineral lift and the foothill site keeps cool nights in play to preserve acidity. The grapes are picked late for full phenolic ripeness, and twenty months in barrel softens the firm tannin through slow oxygen exchange while adding a frame of spice and cocoa. Now with several years of bottle age, the 2017 has begun to mature and integrate. It pours a deep, intense ruby and offers plum jam, dark berries and cocoa over clove, black pepper and a savoury, earthy depth, with leather emerging as it ages. The palate is bold and structured, firm but rounding out, with fine tannin and a long, spiced finish. Serve at 17 to 18 degrees, decanted, in a large glass. It is built for roast beef and game.