La Monacesca
La Monacesca Verdicchio di Matelica is one of those rare and great wines that only nature in its optimum wisdom knows how to put together such unique conditions as great soil and microclimate. It all began hundreds of thousands of years ago when Italy, rather than a peninsula, was merely a chain of islands running south from the European continent into the Mediterranean Sea.

As millenniums went by and the seawaters withdrew, the chain of islands emerged to reveal what today is the Apennine Mountain chain, which runs south through the center of the Italian peninsula, towering over the beautiful plains of the coastline. La Monacesca Estate is situated in the township of Matelica in the Marche region of central Italy and it climbs from the narrow strip of coast up to a large chunk of the Apennines concealed from the eyes of travelers. The soil composition of this area has revealed that for several millennium the waters must have been retained in this sort of mountainous inlet, leaving in its soil, rich marine residuals and marl which in turn mixed into a clayey, sandy composite. This vegetation-rich mountainous area was discovered around the 12th Century by a group of monks who were fleeing to the mountain range to escape the barbaric hordes that often roamed along the coastline. On these fertile grounds, the monks, taken by the protected natural position of the land, decided to settle in and proceeded to build a monastery and work the land. In the ensuing centuries, groups of migrant peasants finished the job of colonization of the whole area, which today is called Matelica.

Worthy of particular note, because of the indispensable role it plays in the structural quality of the grapes, is the strong presence of potassium found in the chemical composition of the soil of the Estate. Potassium most of all increases the richness of sugar in the grapes and a stronger maturation of the vine's branches with consequent greater resistance to the cold (the near mountain range brings plenty of snow over the Estate for almost two to three months of winter), and also a greater resistance to drought, and indispensable quality considering the hot summer months in these high places. Finally, the vine has a greater resistance to all forms of parasite attacks, which gives Cifola the fortunate ability to grow his grapes virtually without any form of intervention or treatments, a quality which the educated consumer has learned to treasure about these wines.

Casimiro Cifola was first attracted to the area in the early sixties, having been exposed to the delicious wines which he had obtained from the farming families who were producing wines just for local consumption, using very simple equipment and harvesting indigenous grape varietals. Cifola marveled that no one had yet given serious consideration to a winemaking venture in the area. Although he already owned a property in the lower plains of the coastline, and had no serious experience with vineyards or winemaking, he decided to invest in a wine making venture by buying the best land available near the sight of the ancient monastery. He decided to call the estate La Monacesca which means "The Monastic Estate".

After a couple of years of experimentation with clones and plant density, finally in the late sixties, he went into wine production with the harvest of its selected vineyards of the Verdicchio varietals (80% of the vineyards) and of the Malvasia varietal (20% of the vineyards). He proceeded to produce two wines, the Verdicchio di Matelica Cifola, which comes from the overall harvest of the whole estate, and the Verdicchio di Matelica La Monacesca which is the Estate's Riserva and comes from the harvest of his choice vineyards.

In 1981, after graduating with honors from the University of Agriculture in Bologna, Aldo Cifola joined his father in the further development of the winery. From the moment Aldo began working with his father, he initiated new techniques, placing the greatest attention on the viticulture, realizing it takes a great grape to produce a great wine. He then turned his attention to the cellar, which he completely rebuilt in 1988, with all the latest modern equipment for the production of a great quality white wine. The rest is history as the wine "aficionados" have discovered with the great fruity rich white wine called Verdicchio di Matelica, which is today, a high note in white wine tasting in the finest wine establishments.


La Monacesca Web site: http://www.assivip.it/aziende/fattorialamonacesca.htm

La Monacesca Verdicchio di Matelica
For this beautiful Cru wine, the Cifolas use clusters that come from the high northwest side of their vineyard of Verdicchio. The clusters are put in plastic boxes and carried to the winery and immediately soft pressed (Vaslin pressed); the first and second pressing gives them the product for this wine. They don't put any sulfites in the clusters or in the must, because they want the must to ferment and in this way reduce the polyphenolic charge of the wine. *(polyphenols are substances in wine that impart bitterness - sulphur binds polyphenols to wine).
The must is then cleaned with a cold system, reducing the temperature to 2 degrees - 3 degrees C, for 24 hours; the suspended particles drop to the bottom and then the clean must is removed and put into another tank ready for fermentation.
The fermentation starts with selected yeast's, namely saccaromyles bayanus, normally used in France for sparkling wines, but very useful for this wine because they can work also in a high alcoholic degree environment, and they don't give the wine any particular fragrance - thus the wine scents are original, coming only from the grapes.
The fermentation goes on for 15 to 20 days in 20 - 21 degrees C temperature, and when this is finished we have the malolactic fermentation that normally goes on until the environment temperature is 20 degrees C, and then stopped. This fermentation will start again the Spring (May or June) and finishes in June or July. Two months after this the Cru is bottled.
La Monacesca has a pale straw color with vivacious bright green reflections. The bouquet is light, soft and with continuity. The flavor is intense with a delicious light, dry fruity aroma.
Grape Variety : Verdicchio

Camerte
La Monacesca Estate is situated in the township of Matelica in the Marche region of central Italy and it climbs from the narrow strip of coast up to a large chunk of the Apennines concealed from the eyes of travelers. The soil composition of this area has revealed that for several millennium the waters must have been retained in this sort of mountainous inlet, leaving in its soil, rich marine residuals and marl which in turn mixed into a clayey, sandy composite. This vegetation-rich mountainous area was discovered around the 12th Century by a group of monks who were fleeing to the mountain range to escape the barbaric hordes that often roamed along the coastline. On these fertile grounds, the monks, taken by the protected natural position of the land, decided to settle in and proceeded to build a monastery and work the land. In the ensuing centuries, groups of migrant peasants finished the job of colonization of the whole area, which today is called Matelica.
The most exciting wine I tasted @ Vinitaly in 2000 was this red wine ,Camerte's Winemaker Aldo Cifola has assembled a great wine here and it is worth every penny! One of the most beautiful vineyard sites I have ever seen is where he has planted 70% Merlot (cuttings from Petrus) and 30% Brunello (cuttings from Biondi-Santi). This is ancient red wine country in fact the name "Camerte" signifies the ancient name of the area ,Camertinum.
My tasting notes are as follows:
"Deep rich color ,tinged with crimson hue. Raspberry ,currants , dried cherries, red fruits, blackberries, concentration of intense jammy fruit(compote de fruit), cedar, tobacco. Fresh entry into the palate, good tannins, anise, some tight fruit,and tight wood. Elegant, full of flavor, dry, healthy fruit, healthier acids, still young so the tannins are a bit lively at this point. 13 months in new wood (Allier), 11 months in older wood and goes into barrique after fermentation.
1500 case production 4 hectre vineyard
Allocation Status: Allocated & Extremely Rare
3 Bicchieri in Gambero Rosso 2002 for 1999 Vintage
2 Bicchieri in Gambero Rosso 2001 for 1998 Vintage

Mirum
Destined to be a fabled wine of limited availability, Mirum is made only in the best vintages from 100% Verdicchio at full ripeness. The grapes are selected from a special vineyard noted for its quality of fruit. They are late harvested to maximize all the best virtues of this varietal. It is then fermented to dryness and aged for 18 months in stainless steel tanks with an additional 6 months in the bottle before ever being released. This wine is not made every year, because the weather must be just perfect to produce this great wine which is reminiscent of the great white Burgundys.
Mirum is one of Italy's few white wines ever to receive a two star rating in the National Italian Wine category by Luigi Veronelli. In 1995, in the winter issue of Gambero Rosso, the Cifola's were ranked as one of the top wineries of Italy.
Mirum has an intense straw color, delicate fruity aroma of golden plums, and firm flavor of remarkable length with a gentle note of acidity.
Grape Variety : Verdicchio

Ecclesia
This wine is obtained with 8 different French Chardonnay clones. This clone mix is used because in this area the Chardonnay grape can have a breakdown of acidity in certain seasons. If you use more clones, every year you have a medium level of acidity and so you can resolve this problem. The exposure of this vineyard is completely different. Here we have an East-West exposure, the contrary of the Verdicchio (North-South). Chardonnay doesn't like too much sun and it prefers an environment of little humidity. These clusters are handled in the same manner as the Verdicchio. The harvest, however, is the first day of September, while for the Verdicchio Cru it is the 10th of October. The Ecclesia is normally aged for one year, without wood.
Ecclesia has a light dry fruity aroma and a delicious flavor with well structured depth and elegance.
Grape Variety : Chardonnay