GRAPES
Croatina, Barbera, Uva Rara, Vespolina
VINEYARD
Training System: Guyot and Spurred Cordon Soil: Clayey with gravels
Altitude: 145 to 160 m asl
Exposure: South/South-East
Age of the plant: over 50 years
HARVEST
Manual harvest
Last ten days of September
WINEMAKING
The grapes are harvested manually in boxes of 20kg, after a partial wilting of the bunches on the plant has begun; they are destemmed and left to ferment
at controlled temperature in concrete tank.
Alcoholic fermentation lasts about 14 days,
during while frequent pumping over takes place. After fermentation, the pomace is left in contact with the wine for 30 days more.
Subsequently the wine is left to refine for 6 months, part in concrete tanks and part in 500lt oak barrels.
TASTING NOTES
In the glass it has ruby red color with garnet reflections, intense and penetrating aroma of floral notes,
red fruits and spices.
The sip is full-bodied and enveloping,
of great complexity and persistence.
ALCOHOL 14,0%
THE Buttafuoco Of The Oltrepo’ Pavese
The Buttafuoco Historical Production Area is located in Oltrepò Pavese in the province of Pavia, more precisely in the area called “the Spur of Stradella”, bordered to the west by the Scuropasso stream, to the east by the Versa stream and crossed by the forty-fifth parallel.
The name of this wine was coined in the second half of the 1800s when, during the Italian Wars of Independence, the Austro-Hungarian Imperial Navy launched a ship called “Buttafuoco”; legend says that this wine got his name in the memory of a battle lost by a company of imperial sailors: the local wine was more successful than the fire of the battle in attracting the bold sailors, who massacred barrels and bottles instead of enemy soldiers inside a large cellar.
The Corte Fabbri winery is located in the northern area of the Buttafuoco appellation, with an area characterized by a gravel bed incorporated in sands, and very steep vineyards; the grapes reach high degrees of ripeness and are transformed into rich wines, slightly angular when young, but with high longevity and structure.
The blend is composed as follow: 50% Croatina, which provides the polyphenolic structure, color and hints of red fruit; 25% Barbera, which forms the backbone of the wine with its acidity and allows for greater extraction from the pomace of Croatina; 25% Vespolina and Uva Rara, which enrich this wine with notes of elegance and pleasant austerity.
After racking, the Buttafuoco rests for 6 months in large oak barrels, and then in bottle.
The result is a wine with great body, elegance and softness, ruby red color with violet reflections; the nose is intense, frank, penetrating and vinous, with prevalent aromas of floral notes such as violets, hints of red fruits and cooked fruit. On the palate there is a great body due to the structure and the good alcohol content, a relatively limited overall acidity and a good balance between the sensations of dryness and roundness.
It is a product of considerable personality, as it expresses the organoleptic characteristics of the vine and therefore of the area of origin, a Noble Wine that lasts over time while continuing to enrich itself with pleasant characters.
GRANDPA RENZO
We dedicated the label of our Buttafuoco to Grandpa Renzo because we found many similarities between him and this wine. Here is his story in brief:
Grandfather Renzo was born in Milan on 11 December 1926. At 16, due to disagreements with his father, he enlisted in the Italian Army lying about his age and took part in the Second World War; he was captured by the British and held captive in Egypt, until his release in 1945.