Stockist/Retailer: wickhamwine.co.uk

(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.

(2024) A panel of winemakers in selects certain wines to form part of an annual, limited-edition collection. Fruit for this comes from selected plots predominantly on clay-limestone and gravel soils. Fermentation in stainless steel was followed by ageing on the fine lees for ten months. Presented in a very handsome bottle, it is an arresting wine aromatically, with grippy citrus peel, yeasty, and almondy and creamy notes from the time stirred on the lees. Quite full bodied, grapefruit dominates with punchy, tangy and bittersweet flavours, a salty backbone if acidity and again, that lees work creating a creamy and nutty undertone. Watch the video for more information.