2017 Ceraudo Petraro BIO

You don't see wines from Calabria or Calabria very much because the wine mainly remains in Italy and the vineyards and wineries are generally very small with sometimes only vineyards on the steep slope of a few football fields. Calabria has more than 2,500 years of wine history. The wines of Cirò and Bianco, in the east and south of the region respectively, have been prized since ancient times and served to the winners of the Olympic Games. The wines of Savuto, on the west coast, have also been repeatedly praised in literature throughout history. The region is very interesting for viticulture because Calabria has mild winters with an average temperature of 10 °C; it rarely gets colder than 5°C. Especially on the coast it is hot and dry almost all year round. In the hills and mountainous parts it is significantly cooler and the necessary rain can fall. The vineyards on the coast in particular have a good difference between the day and the night due to the proximity of the sea and certainly the northern area where Ceraudo is located has the advantage that there is always wind, whereby the sirocco (hot and dry air from the Sahara) and wind from the north alternate and this has one big advantage, fungi are not or hardly present and organic wine cultivation is therefore relatively easy.

The Albanian Roberto Ceraudo owns about 60 hectares of land in the municipality of Strongoli Marina near Crotone, 20 of which are planted with all kinds of grape varieties. Ceraudo works organically and, in collaboration with oenologist Fabrizio Ciuffoli, makes modern stylized wines with an excellent reputation, including mantonica, pecorello, greco bianco and chardonnay, in addition to magliocco, gaglioppo, greco nero and some cabernet sauvignon. Roberto Cerauda is assisted by his children, of whom Giuseppe takes care of the production of the wines, Susy takes care of the administration and sales and Caterina (although an oenologist graduate) manages their Michelin-starred restaurant Dattilo .

The Ceraudo Petraro is the top model of Ceraudo. Fermented with only natural yeasts. The Petraro is a blend of 50% Gaglioppo, 30% Greco Nero and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon. It has matured for 36 months in French oak barrels, and 2 years in the bottle and not released until mid-2022 but still has the spirit, energy and character of a young man. The "Petraro" of Ceraudo has everything that great red wines should have: the aromas are deep and complex, but at the same time harmonious, the sip is soft and persistent, of great caliber. It has a beautiful intense garnet color in the glass. Ripe plums, black cherries and sour cherries open the entrance to the nose, which is then characterized by important tertiary notes of bitter cocoa, anise, licorice, leather and tobacco. The taste is full and full, warm and well present in the tannin texture, which is at the same time velvety and perfectly finished with a long finish.