Merlot 'Dileo' Castelvecchio 2018

Castelvecchio's Merlot 'Dileo' is a prestigious label from the famous Friulian winery, made from a selection of the best grapes and an expression of the most favourable vintages. The estate is located in a borderland between the Gorizia area and the Karst, on the road from Sagrado to San Martino del Carso. The area has always been very suitable for cultivating vines, and the origins of the estate date back as far as 1700. The Bordeaux grape variety has been living in these lands for more than a century and has now become one of the most widespread of the red grape varieties. This intense and complex version of Merlot is dedicated to those who love long, ageing bottles.

The red Merlot 'Dileo' is produced by one of the most important wineries in the area. The Castelvecchio estate covers an area of 120 hectares, some thirty of which are planted with vines under organic farming methods and the remainder with woodland to ensure a rich and vital biodiversity. The Merlot vineyards are located in the area of the Gorizia Karst, characterised by a mild climate, which is affected by the proximity of the sea and the wide temperature range between the heat of the day and the cold nights. The soils are poor and stony, composed of a substratum of calcareous rock, covered with little soil, and rich in iron minerals. Under these particular conditions, the vine is forced to seek nourishment at depth and naturally produces with low yields. The healthiest and ripest bunches are sent for fermentation with classic maceration on the skins. The wine rests for 3 years in tonneaux and oak barriques and completes its long ageing period with a few months in the bottle.

Merlot 'Dileo' wine from the Castelvecchio winery represents very well the centuries-old interaction between the Bordeaux grape variety and the lands of the Gorizia Karst. It is a red wine with a great personality, capable of combining richness and pleasant smoothness. In the glass, it is a beautiful, dark, luminous ruby red. The olfactory picture is typically varietal, with aromas of small dark berries, blackcurrants, blackberries, cherries, delicate spicy hints and vegetal nuances reminiscent of officinal herbs and balsamic plants. It has a good structure on the palate, with subtle, soft tannins and a mouthfeel of big and ripe fruit, shaded by elegant notes of evolution tertiary. The finish is very balanced, fresh and mineral.