Contrada Bianco di Merlot 2023
DOC Ticino, Brivio, 750 ml
Description
Pale golden yellow with bright green tinge. Floral nose of acacia, pear and apricot and notes of almond cakes. On palate the wine is full with a lovely vivacity and aromas of cut grass and hazelnut. Nice balance, good length and a finish supported by a pleasant, light mineral tone.
Attributes
| Grape variety: | Merlot |
| Producer: | Brivio / Gialdi |
| Origin: | Switzerland / Tessin / Sottoceneri |
| Other vintages: | 2024 |
| Label: | Vegan |
| Ripening potential: | 1 to 4 years |
| Drinking temperature: | 10 to 12 °C |
| Food Pairing: | Italian antipasti, Apéro riche, Baked egli fillets with tartare sauce, Salad with vegetables, pulses, pasta, Paella |
| Vinification: | pressed carefully and immediately, fermentation in steel tank, fermentation at low temperatures |
| Harvest: | hand-picking |
| Maturation: | in steel tank |
| Volume: | 13.0 % |
| Note: | Contains sulphites |
Merlot
Everybody’s darling
Merlot is the most charming member of the Bordeaux family. It shines with rich colour, fragrant fullness, velvety tannins and sweet, plummy fruit. It even makes itself easy for the vintner, as it matures without issue in cool years as well. This is in contrast to the stricter Cabernet Sauvignon, which it complements as a blending partner. Its good qualities have made the Merlot famous worldwide. At over 100,000 hectares, it is the most-planted grape in France. It also covers large areas in California, Italy, Australia and recently in Eastern Europe. The only catch is that pure Merlot varieties rarely turn out well. Its charm is often associated with a lack of substance. Only the best specimens improve with maturity. They then develop complex notes of leather and truffles. This succeeds in the top wines from the Bordeaux appellation of Pomerol and those from Ticino, among others.
Tessin
Ticino: the Merlot Mecca of Switzerland
Ticino winegrowing is thought to date from Roman times, as early as 2000 years ago. But the foundation for today’s viticulture was laid just over 100 years ago, in 1907. It was then that the first Merlot vines were planted at Castelrotto in Malcantone. Since then, the variety has emerged triumphant here. Top selections matured in barriques more than measure up to those from Bordeaux’s Saint-Émilion or Pomerol regions.
Switzerland
Switzerland – A small country with enormous diversity
Switzerland is famous for its banks, watches, and cheese, but not necessarily for its wine. The Swiss didn't invent wine, but they have been extremely open and curious to it. Wine culture arrived in what is now modern Switzerland via several routes: from Marseilles to Lake Geneva and the Lower Valais region; from the Aosta Valley through the Great St. Bernard Pass to the rest of Valais; from the Rhone through Burgundy, across the Jura Mountains to Lake Constance; and from Lombardy to Ticino, and then on to Grisons.
