Tufts of compact bright green carpet, soft and velvety, perfumed a precious and rare sign ... It is the moss that regulates the temperature and humidity of the soil.
Its compact and spongy composition allows it to absorb and retain large quantities of water which it then releases gradually and slowly through the soil, proceeding to irrigate it spontaneously, protecting the soil from sudden changes in temperature.
One of the expressions of the complexity and wonder of nature.
Have you ever seen a vineyard with moss growing luxuriantly under the rows? Maybe in Germany, Austria or South Tyrol? But exceptionally also in Montalcino, right in the middle of Tuscany! At over 500 meters above sea level, there is a 10ha vineyard that is unique in its kind, with a north exposure …..among the last to be harvested in all of Tuscany.
"The cool and ventilated position allows us the luxury of being practically the last vineyard to be harvested in the municipality of Montalcino, always allowing us to obtain perfect phenolic maturation. The freshness of this high and steep territory is testified by the fact that in large stretches from the vineyard we even have moss growing under the row, a characteristic of a mountain vineyard ... " says Antonio Michael Zaccheo, with Cateterina Sacchet the second generation of Carpineto producers.
The northern exposure, in a ventilated area, gives the wines a strategic, unique microclimate, warm during the day and temperate and cool at night, which makes it easier for a prolonged maturation and allows a late harvest with all the effects that this has on the wine in terms of phenolic maturation, acidity, sugar percentage and then on the palate an always lively freshness, intense, elegant, complex aromas and good longevity.
Grapes harvested from Vigneto Paradiso , one of the highest in the denomination, where the gaze abandons itself to the widest breath.
The Montalcino di Carpineto estate , in a privileged position, 500 meters above sea level, in the Rogarelli area, is one of the highest and most panoramic settlements in the denomination with a view that sweeps from the historic center of Montalcino (which is 2 km as the crow flies) of which the entire perimeter of the city walls is framed, to the Val d'Arbia, where the ancient Cassia joins the Via Francigena, and on clear days as far as Siena. Looking up then, beyond the first line of hills on the horizon to the north, you can even see the Chianti Classico hills above Siena.
The smallest of the five Carpineto estates is among the most evocative: a sort of wine boutique with ancient stone farmhouses surrounded by centuries-old oaks and all around 53 hectares of land, 10 of which are vineyards planted with Sangiovese Grosso trained with spurred cordon (3 5 hours of Brunello, 5 of Rosso di Montalcino, the rest Sant'Antimo Rosso), at a density of 5700 plants per hectare, an olive grove and a dense forest of oaks, holm oaks and Mediterranean scrub.
From a geological point of view, the estate or Appodiato di Montalcino is located on the undifferentiated complex of scaly clays, mainly made up of schists, marly limestones and quartz sandstones.
The slight exposure to the north, in a panoramic and breezy position, gives the wines of this estate a unique microclimate, warm during the day and temperate and cool at night, which gives the Brunello intense and complex aromas, a beautiful freshness, minerality, elegance, refinement and great longevity.
The elevated position of the vineyards, a great resource considering climate change, in fact allows a prolonged maturation, therefore a late harvest, as was done in the past. Among the last vines to be harvested in the area, often the very last. This slow progress allows you to wait for the perfect phenolic ripening of the grapes while maintaining the right acidity and sugar content.
