Alpha Zeta "C" Corvina 2010
Producer
Alpha Zeta was started in 1999 when Liberty Wines set out to produce a range of modern, fruit driven wines from the hills outside Verona.
Working with leading New Zealand winemaker, Matt Thomson, their aim was to work with growers (rather than buy bulk wine, which is standard
among most wines from Verona at this price) to obtain ripe grapes (by reducing yields and picking later) and then, using Matt's expertise,
preserve these flavours in the finished wines. The result is a realisation of the potential inherent in Veronese viniculture.
Vineyards
The vineyards are situated in the hills outside Verona. They selected several vineyards, some at high altitude, in excellent sites where the
growers had reduced the crop quite significantly.
Vintage Information
The Veneto winter was characterised by cold, wet weather which gave way to a cool, rainy spring. Conditions improved in late May with
a hot, dry June with good diurnal temperature differences. Harvest was approximately a week later than 2009 and the grapes were
picked in good condition with good acidity levels, better pH than 2009 and lovely aromatic qualities.
Vinification
The grapes were hand harvested, de-stemmed and crushed and pumped to stainless steel tanks purpose built for fermenting red wine.
25% of the juice was drained from the tank in order to increase the ratio of skins to juice, which in turn resulted in a wine with greater
colour and flavour. The wine was pumped over automatically every hour in the early stages to increase extraction further. The wine was left
in contact with the skins for seven days, and fermentation took place at up to 30°C. Malolactic fermentation took place in large oak, in
which the wine was aged for a further six months prior to bottling. As a great deal of effort went into growing and ripening the grapes used to
make this wine, the wine was not subject to severe treatments or filtration that ensure stability but strip flavour, colour and character. As
a result, it may throw a light but harmless natural deposit in bottle.
Tasting Note
Ruby red colour with a youthful rim and perfumes of ripe, fresh cherries and red berries. Nicely balanced and juicy on the palate, with a
supple structure and attractive lively finish.
