The Mandrarossa wines hail from a selection of the best sites within Cantine Settesoli’s 6,000 hectares of vineyard in southwestern Sicily, planted with 32 grape varieties. The vineyards are split between the cooperative’s 2,000 members and cover the area around Selinunte, the hauntingly beautiful ruins of a Greek town founded 2,600 years ago. Cantine Settesoli helps support the restoration of this archaeological site.
First produced in 1999, Mandrarossa opened its own winery in 2021. They have one of the largest solar energy installations in the Italian winemaking sector, with their solar panels fuelling this completely sustainable winery, which is well integrated into the surrounding hills. The vineyards are close to the sea, where intense sunlight, moderating sea breezes, mild temperatures, multiple elevations and a myriad of different soil types combine to create the quality of grapes that they are looking for.
The Merlot Vineyards are stretched along south facing hills on medium-textured clay soils, at an altitude of between 100-300 metres. Certified Organic. Once at the winery, the hand-harvested grapes were crushed and destemmed. Fermentation took place in stainless-steel tanks at 22-25°C and lasted for 6-8 days. The wine then spent a further eight months ageing in stainless-steel tanks before bottling.
The Mandrarossa Merlot is ruby-red with purplish reflections. On the nose it is intense and persistent, with scents of plums, quince marmalade, broom and rosemary. On the palate it is sapid and warm, with an aftertaste of liquorice and notes of mulberry and wild asparagus.
