Antica Torre De Roccolo Bianco del Roccolo 2018

Country: Italy

Region: Veneto

Type: White Wine

Grape: Dorona

In 2010, Chiara Bassi and Raimond Zolin purchased two-thirds of a hectare of very old vines inter-planted in the “old way” with trees in the shadow of a roccolo, a towering vertical birdhouse, because they knew that if they didn’t, the vineyard and the winegrowing history it represented would be destroyed. Working diligently to restore their 90 year-old vines, they have identified more than 20 autochthonous grape varieties under their care, from which they now make three wines in scant quantities: a white, a red and a frizzante. Theirs is a real grassroots operation: their “cellar” is actually a corner of a friend’s garage; fermentations take place in fiberglass and plastic tubs, and aging occurs in neutral barrels.

This is a savory, waxy, yellow-fruited, well-structured wine meticulously assembled from a mix of old-vine grapes from the heart of the domaine (a blend of all of the white grapes grown on the property). In 2018 (as in 2016) the fruit was so clean that Raimondo chose not to add sulfur; this is his goal for future vintages as well, as the growing season allows.