(2024) Schiava is one of the oldest cultivated varieties in Trentino.  In the Middle Ages, farmers invented a technique to control the growth of the vines by tying young plants to a rigid support.  This gave rise to the expression ‘Cum Vineis Sclavis’, literally ‘enslaved vines’, later shortened to schiava, meaning 'slave'.  Vines for this wine are at least 30 years old, planted at 250-350m altitude. It spent 10 months on the fine lees, 40% in stainless steel and 60% in concrete vats. It has a delicate, medium-pale garnet colour moving into orange. Made in a leafy, mellow and light style (only 12% alcohol) there's a soft, easy drinkability with very mellow tannins and a nip cherry acidity. One to please the Pinot Noir or Beaujolais drinker perhaps, but with its own Italian twist of bittersweetness in the finish.

(2022) From a band of limestone soil hillsides on the slopes of Mount Baldo, vines grow at an altitude of around 450- to 600 metres. Fruit is destemmed, vinified in stainless steel, then matured in French oak barriques for 20 months. A slightly muddy edge to the colour here, but clear cherry and herb-infused fruit on the nose, then a cool, firm palate, the oak adding a bit of polish to spicy and dark fruit flavours, with a refreshing liquorice twist in the finish.

(2022) Introduced in 2014, certain blocks for Pinot have been indentified, and the wine is given some bottle age before release, so this is the current vintage. The wine does see some 225-litre barrel ageing, but very little oak is new and toasting is light. More elegance here than the 2017 tasted recently , though some development with an autumnal feel to the fruit, a little forest floor and mushroom character, cherry-ripe fruit coming through on the mid-palate. The spice and light toast of the oak sits well against the crisp, light- to medium-bodied style of the wine, with spicy notes into a finish balanced by clean tannins and acidity.