Harlequin 2009 Zymè

Wine description

The Zymè's Harlequin is a blend of minimum 15 grape varieties: 4 whites and 11 reds (Garganega, Trebbiano toscano, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Corvina, Corvinone, Rondinella, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Syraz, Teroldego, Croatina, Oseleta, Sangiovese, and Marzemino) grown in Zymèʼs vineyards in the province of Verona. Harlequin is produced only in the finest growing years. Celestino Gaspari, owner and oenologist of the Zymé winery, decided to make his own wine after have been working for Giuseppe Quintarelli for 10 years. A great red wine, with a clearer definition of detail that distinguishes Harlequin from its younger brother Kairos.

Tasting Notes

Color: luminous, dense ruby red, tending to garnet with ageing Scent: alternating notes of fruit, blossoms, and good minerality Taste: rich and complex. Fruit, spices alternate with fruit marmalade and forest, followed by pipe tobacco, cinnamon, nutmeg and clove, combining with a vein of minerality. It concludes with great length and an note of sweetness.

Vinification

The grapes are manually-picked cluster by cluster, personally selected by the winemaker; they are placed on drying trays for from 0 to 40 days, depending on the status of the harvest, in an area under natural conditions, with no machines, forced ventilation or dehumidifiers. The whole clusters are crushed, without de-stemming, and the grapes ferment in concrete vats with ambient yeasts for about 30 days. After drawing-off, the wine settles by gravity for about 10 days.

Ageing

A two-fold maturation process follows, for a total of 30 months, utilising new French oak 225-litre barrels (200%) with no rackings. The unfiltered wine is bottled and receives an additional minimum of 2 years in bottle.