'San Leto Etichetta Blu' Ricci 2021
Ricci's "San Leto Etichetta Blu" is made from Timorasso grapes that come exclusively from old vines owned by Daniele! After 3 days of maceration on the skins, it will rest for 12 months in steel tanks and then for at least 24 months in the bottle. An intense, full-bodied and surprising juice where aromatic herbs give way to smoky notes, resulting in a full, sophisticated and endlessly pleasant sip
San Leto Etichetta Blu is the firstborn of Daniele Ricci, founder of the winery that bears his name in Costa Vescovado. Irreverent, stubborn, meticulous and revolutionary: this pure Timorasso reflects the character of the winemaker who produced it. Daniele never stops creating, experimenting and surprising, presenting vintage after vintage, innovative, radical interpretations of this leading grape variety from the Tortonese hills.
San Leto is the name of Daniele's old vineyard, his personal and pharaonic Cru. A borderland - geographically Piedmontese, but scenically Ligurian - ambivalent, silent, far from the spotlight, unspoilt: this is where the Ricci winery stands. The soils, rich in Tortonian marl, are the envy of their Langhe counterparts, giving the wines natural finesse and interesting evolutionary potential. The pure exceptionality of the land, combined with Daniele's delicate, courageous and imaginative touch, which intervenes without distorting, gives life to this iridescent liquid, austere and caressing at the same time.
After resting on the skins for three days, the Timorasso “San Leto Etichetta Blu” is vinified in steel tanks, where the must will remain for 12 months on the fine lees, without the addition of selected yeasts and without temperature control, allowing nature and no one else to watch over the slow passage of time. Once bottled, without clarification or filtration, it is "forgotten" for at least two years in the cellar. Why wait so long? Only when you taste it do you understand how worthwhile it really is; the soul of the juice is Alsatian, intense and vigorous, with surprising smoky tones and a refreshing herbaceous outline. On the palate, it is fleshy and pulpy, sophisticated and refreshing, pleasant and persistent. A Timorasso to encounter, embrace and remember, knowing that the next sip will inevitably and unpredictably be different.