VENTIQUATTRO / SUZUCAN RED MERLOT & CS SV 2022 (Red) 750ml

This time, the vineyard where the wine was made is a 32a vineyard planted with Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Sangiovese by a farmer who started farming in 2014.

In 2019, shortly after moving to Suzaka City in Nagano Prefecture, I received a message from the owner that another farm was getting busy and they wanted to let it go. For me, who was looking for a field, it was a timely opportunity to take over.

The elevation is about 350m, which is relatively low for Suzaka City, but due to its distance from the mountains to the east and west, it has long hours of sunlight. Compared to the neighboring village of Takayama, which is a wine-producing area, there is no significant temperature difference, but the budding is early and the growing period is long.

When I took over the field, I was delighted to find that the Italian indigenous variety Sangiovese was planted, which reminded me of the Super Tuscan, a blend wine representing the Tuscany region of Italy, as I am a fan of Italy.

However, Sangiovese is a variety that is very difficult to cultivate in Japan, where there is a lot of rainfall. The clusters and berries become large, which can lead to splitting, and it is hard to increase the sugar content and achieve good coloring, resulting in struggles year after year.

However, by blending Sangiovese with other varieties, it produces a rich flavor that is not found in other grapes. Therefore, in 2022, we limited the yield and focused on sugar content and color as much as possible during cultivation.

Since we harvest after ripening, the Merlot and Sangiovese were harvested about two weeks later than usual on October 15 and 16, while the Cabernet Sauvignon was harvested on November 1.

Starting in 2023, we will focus on the new field (1.8ha in the Nire district of Suzaka City), so this vineyard will conclude its cultivation in 2022, becoming a commemorative wine as a culmination of the fourth year.

To avoid a strong barrel aroma for the new barrel, we put 1/3 into the barrel and aged 2/3 in a stainless steel tank for 10 months. After blending, it was bottled, resulting in a gentle barrel aroma.

I feel that it still lacks sufficient aging to drink. It has some hardness, acidity, and greenness, so I recommend aging it for over a year before enjoying it.

"I hope you enjoy it while thinking of Italy. Ciao!"