Cont’Ugo

After the grapes were hand harvested and carefully selected on sorting tables, the berries were transferred into temperature controlled stainless steel vats where alcoholic fermentation and maceration on the skins took place over a period of about 20 days. Fermentation temperatures were managed based on the ripeness of the grapes: lower temperatures were applied to preserve and enhance aromatic freshness while higher temperatures, up to 30 °C (86 °F), to boost extraction of phenolic compounds and enhance structure. The different batches were divided according to their individual characteristics and then transferred into barriques. Malolactic fermentation was completed by the end of the year. The finest batches were blended and transferred back into barriques, 10% first fill and 90% second fill, for a further 12-month period of aging, then bottled. Cont’Ugo was left to age in the bottle for an additional 3 months before being released for sale.

The 2020 growing season started with mild winter weather and scattered rainfall. Despite a sudden drop in temperatures in March and an unexpected frost at the end of the month, no significant damage was reported in Bolgheri. Halfway through April, temperatures were on the rise and spring proceeded normally encouraging excellent flowering and fruit set that took place between the end of May and beginning of June.Summer was hot and dry, uninterrupted by extreme heat events. September was dominated by higher-than-average temperatures up until the final week of the month when the weather turned cool and rainy; such conditions persisted until October. Harvesting activities began on September 3rd with the first selection of Merlot for Cont’Ugo and was completed on September 30th in the late-ripening vineyards where grapes were riper and more mature.