Petrilli Cacc’e Mmitte di Lucera – Agramante

Country	Italy
Region	Puglia
Producer	Petrilli
Size	750mL
Style	Red
Practices	Organic
Grapes	Aglianico, Montepulciano, Nero di Troia, Sangiovese
Other Features	Indigenous yeasts

Grapes grown organically from the winery’s estate vineyards.60% Nero di Troia, Sangiovese, Montepulciano, Bombino. Harvest mid-September for the Sangiovese, early-October for Montepulciano and Bombino, end-October for Nero di Troia. Whole-berry fermentation. Natural yeast fermentation in tronconic vats of French and Slovenian oak. Aged in stainless steel. Bottled after one year, unfiltered.

The oddly named DOC literally means “to take out, and put in”, a reference to working hard in the fields where you take out your pay, and put in your time, take out the fruits of your labor after you put in the hard work. This is the only DOC wine produced by the winery. Agramante is a reference from literature, and is the name of the Saracen King of North Africa, who in Ludovico Ariosto’s Epic “Orlando Furioso”, has invaded Europe to avenge his father’s death, thus finding himself at war with the Christian emperor Charlemagne. 14.5% alcohol.

ABOUT THE PRODUCER: Petrilli

The Petrilli estate is located in northern Puglia, in the region of Daunia, near the town of Lucera. La Motticella or Motta della Regina is a centuries old settlement, reported on maps even before 1000 B.C. It was originally a stopover on the road between Lucera, in the inland area, and Lesina, outpost of Venice on the Adriatic sea. It later became a feud belonging to the Caropresa family, the Zunica, and the Serra di Cassano. At the beginning of the twentieth century, Paolo Petrilli, grandfather of the current Paolo Petrilli, bought it using his wife Teresa’s dowry, and it was united with the neighbouring family estates: Feudo, Bisciglieto, Sequestro and De Iulio.

Paolo and Paola Petrilli have lived there their whole lives and have gained an enormous reputation growing some of the finest organic pomodori (tomatoes) in all of Italy, from heirloom varieties. Their crop, from just 5 hectares of tomato plants, sells out every year to Michelin-starred restaurants. Paolo applies the same philosophy to his wines: better to limit production and make the best possible product. In 2002, the family released the first wines from the 11 hectares of vines they planted in 1998. Paolo flatly states that his production will always be limited to whatever he is able to vinify from that 11 ha. A quiet, funny, sophisticated farmer and academic (his beautiful home is overflowing with books on every conceivable subject), Paolo’s wines are so impossibly elegant, they almost dance on the palate.

Only local varieties are planted: Nero di Troia is the main one with 6 ha, then Sangiovese, Montepulciano, Aglianico, Bombino and Verdellino. The vineyards are located on the estate hill, around the building, in an area of very stony, calcareous soil; they have a southern exposure and are always covered with spontaneous vegetation. The location is extremely windy, which makes for healthy grapes. The vineyard density has five thousand plants per hectare, and the grape yield never exceeds 13,230 pounds.

Farming/vinification/sustainability practices: The entire property has been certified organic by the ICEA since 2008. The grapes are hand harvested and only indigenous yeasts are used for the fermentation. The wine is aged in wooden vats. The winery is run on 100% renewable energy.