vendemmia 2023

The harvest Tenuta Montemagno 2023

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Article written in collaboration with Roberto Nantiat and Gianfranco Cordero, winemakers of Tenuta Montemagno

It was already understood since last 2022 that this would be a particular year for the cultivation and harvest of the 2023 grapes, remembered as a difficult year due to the extreme drought which compromised part of the vineyards, forcing some wineries to intervene on the plants and replant the cuttings in order to recover, in future years, what water scarcity has caused. But despite these warning signals, 2023 was able to surprise us again, for a strong variability of the climatic conditions that affected the cultivation starting from the winter and which continued until the summer.

Let’s summarize the situation with Roberto Nantiat the winemaker who, with Gianfranco Cordero, follows the works at Tenuta Montemagno, to understand the trend of 2023, with a focus on the harvest just terminated and on what the wines resulting from this harvest will be like.

Vendemmia 2023

“This is a particular vintage” Roberto says “but we could already understand it from how spring and summer were; from an extreme period of drought we moved to a semi-resolution during the months of June and early July, to return to another situation of stress due to the high temperatures reached from the beginning to mid-August”.

During this period, for about two weeks, the thermometer marked 40°/45° C with average night-time values always above 30° C. The effect on the plants was the blocking of photosynthesis and therefore the ripening of bunches. So on August 22nd, ahead of the traditional calendar, the Sauvignon harvest began.

“We decided to race against time to prevent these grapes, which are very sensitive to climatic conditions, from burning. Sauvignon, in fact, due to the strong heat can “burn” and produce oxidation which, in turn, could lead to a loss of those aromas that are very important for the varietal”.

The choice to carry out an early harvest was also dictated by the desire to maintain a good quality of the grapes, to the detriment of the volumes harvested.

uva

“At the end of August we had three days of heavy rain”, Roberto continues. “This restored the water balance of the plants. The grapes have started to swell again, the ripening has resumed its course, and the vegetation has therefore also regained the natural colour of the period; from a green with a rather dull brightness it returned to a beautiful dark green, a signal indicating the resumption of photosynthesis”.

Vendemmia 2023

From that moment on, the harvest resumed, first with Barbera grapes for the vinification of TM Brut and then with Syrah, used for the Violae label (blend of Syrah and Barbera). Syrah vinification shows a particularly intense colour, an interesting structure and, therefore, a good concentration.

During the month of September the harvest continued with the Timorasso, which reached perfect ripeness thanks to the heavy rains at the end of August, used for Solis Vis, and Nymphae.

“Now (mid-September, ed.), we are harvesting the Barbera grapes, destined for the vinification of the Austerum reds and Mysterium, that are offering the same quality as always with greater softness and freshness. Soon we will continue with the Ruchè grapes for Nobilis, while the harvest for Invictus, the Ruché made with a late harvest, will occur two weeks later”.

Summing up the 2023 harvest of Tenuta Montemagno, we can therefore state that it is characterized by reduced volumes, good quality of the harvested bunches and excellent conditions for winemaking.

cantina Tenuta Montemagno

Spring works in the Tenuta Montemagno vineyard and cellar

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Article written in collaboration with Roberto Nantiat and Gianfranco Cordero, winemakers of Tenuta Montemagno

2022 will certainly be remembered by all wine producers as a year of severe drought.

Similarly, 2023 will be remembered for being, at least in the first 6 months, a particularly bizarre year from a meteorological point of view. Past year’s drought lasted for the first months of this one to then suddenly change and bring the attention of winemakers and agronomists from scarcity to abundance of water in the soil.

In this article we will find out with Roberto Nantiat, the winemaker who, with Gianfranco Cordero, follows the works at Tenuta Montemagno, what happened between the rows during the spring on the estate and what was done to deal with the sudden abundance of water and to prepare the vineyard at its best for a season, the summer, which leads to the harvest.

The first part of spring 2023 was still marked by drought. A status that has its origins in the past year and which has persisted, except for some sporadic rainy and snowy events, throughout the winter and the first part of this year. Since May there has been a climatic inversion: from zero rain to 2-3 days of rain per week.

This reversal brings with it two potential consequences: one positive and one negative.

The first, as it is easy to imagine, solves the water problem; the abundant rains bring a lot of nourishment to the vines and these show a strong vegetation. The second, also easily guessable, is the possible presence of fungi (mainly downy mildew and powdery mildew), which caused by the very short time between one rainy event and the next, could become particularly strong and aggressive. Utmost attention therefore, with protective interventions to be carried out in the vineyard, such as the more orderly “distribution” of the shoots, so that a greater passage of air is created and the potential risks of taking root and growth of fungi are reduced.

Uva

Another rather unusual aspect that could require corrective interventions is always linked to the abundance of water and the consequent vegetative thrust of the plants which is shown with an evident luxuriance of the foliage.

This sign is definitely positive, but shows a slightly uneven growth of the shoots even at individual plant level.

This is the result of the stress suffered by the vines during the drought, when the shoots all grew with great difficulty; now, with the arrival of rainfall, the differences generated by this stress can be clearly seen, with some shoots stronger than others.

This vegetative inhomogeneity leads us to monitor the evolution of the season with great meticulousness, to plan in advance interventions in the vineyard, presumably at the beginning of August. Normally we already carry out the thinning of the bunches, so as to guarantee the right balance between the quality of the harvested grapes and the quantity; this year we expect an intensification of this operation which gives strength to the vine and to the ripest bunches and nourishment to the soil, on which the pruned bunches are left.

In the cellar we continued with the bottling of most of the red wines, while for the whites this activity was completed at the end of winter: Violae (blend of Syrah and Barbera d’Asti), Soranus (the Barolo of Tenuta Motnemagno), Mysterium 2019 (Barbera d’Asti Superiore) and Nobilis (Ruchè di Castagnole Monferrato).

Invictus will soon follow, always Ruchè from Castagnole Monferrato, particularly decisive and structured, obtained by carrying out a late harvest of the grapes. Resting horizontally for 24 and 36 months, on the other hand, the TM Brut (Metodo Classico from Barbera grapes), whose “draft” was carried out in mid-late March.

The climate changes we wrote about in the first part of the article have had another positive response. While during the winter it was evident that the vegetation of the vineyard was two weeks early, now it can be seen how this condition has been reset; as a result, the harvest forecast could return to the more traditional deadlines, from the end of August to the beginning of September onwards.

We will therefore talk about this again in the next editorial, when we will have updates on the status of the vineyard during the summer and on the preparation or completion work for the 2023 harvest.

TMM relais estate

White, fresh, still, Tenuta Montemagno wines for summer

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Summer is synonymous with long, sunny days, evenings with friends and aperitifs to spend moments in pleasant company … also with a good glass of wine, preferably white, fresh and with a wide bouquet of aromas.

The combination of “beautiful season, glass of fresh white wine” has always marked the most cheerful and convivial moments.

White wines have the gift of being able to mitigate the summer heat thanks to their freshness, aromaticity and, in some cases, distinct minerality capable of making drinking extremely pleasant.

In a land of important red wines (Ruché, Barbera, Grignolino), the many varieties of Tenuta Montemagno white wines stand out, capable of delighting the senses with their fruity, aromatic and savory notes, discovering endless possibilities for experiences and pairings.

Nypmhae is a blend of Sauvignon and Timorasso grapes grown in the estate’s vineyards with south/southwest exposure. The combination of these grapes results in a wine that is exclusive for its richness of sensations on the palate and nose (characteristics of the Sauvignon grape variety), with an important minerality given by the soil rich in sodium, magnesium and potassium, typical of Timorasso grapes.

This Sauvignon gives intense notes of citrus and exotic fruit, where the passion fruit stands out in particular, while the Timorasso gives off delicate mineral and flint notes. It is an intense, complex and very pleasant white wine.

Its structure, complex and firm, makes it a wine with a good capacity for aging, very versatile in pairings, so much so that it is a great classic for structured aperitifs and Sunday brunches.

TMM Nymphae
TMM Musae

Musae, is the fruit of Sauvignon Blanc and Sauvignon Gris (mutation of Sauvignon Blanc characterized by the pink berry) grapes, vinified in purity. This label stands out for its ample aromatic notes and taste persistence. It is a smooth and firm wine on the palate. Elegant and with pleasant freshness, it stands out for the great intensity of aromas, we find a lot of citrus but also acacia flowers and honey, savory and with great persistence and intensity.

As summer approaches, it is the perfect wine, served at a temperature of 10°-12°, to accompany the simplest aperitifs and fish dishes, even raw.

Solis Vis is the Piedmontese white wine, made from Timorasso grapes, capable of conveying sensations and emotions that have nothing to envy to those of the finest red wines. For the longevity it can achieve, we can safely call it a white wine with the soul of a great red. Solis Vis is a particular label, it gives intense mineral notes the delicate scent of freshly cut pear and a unique sapidity and intensity, its persistence is truly amazing, this white is able to reach important gradations and to accompany dishes characterized by a strong personality: from seasoned and tasty cheeses typical of Piedmontese production, to cod, shellfish up to foie gras escalopes and spiced poultry, without forgetting the traditional “vitello tonnato”, a typical recipe of the territory.

TM Solis Vis

Nymphae, Musae, Solis Vis from Tenuta Montemagno are the perfect wines to let yourself be transported into an unforgettable experience, with the infinite aromatic nuances and heady freshness that only whites born in a land of important reds, can give.

To taste unusual pairings or the classics of Monferrato cuisine with our summer labels, come visit us at the Civetta sul Comò restaurant, or buy our wines directly to pair with your recipes.

All Tenuta Montemagno wines are available in our online shop.

piscina notte

New interior design and new services at Tenuta Montemagno Relais & Wines

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During early months of 2023, important work was carried out to give the rooms of Tenuta Montemagno Relais & Wines a new look. The objectives of these activities were to renovate the structure, to maintain a service adequate to the customer expectations and, above all, to increase the level of quality to be offered to guests staying at the relais.

The main work was carried out in the Junior Suites and, to a lesser extent, in the Classic and Superior rooms. Aesthetic improvement work was carried out in all the rooms of the relais.

In all rooms and suites, the light lines have been changed. New lamps with a modern design that wink at the lighting that once characterised country houses, thanks to their tapered shapes that evoke candle flames.

In the Junior Suites, the furnishings have been completely redesigned and the spaces on the ground floor have been reconfigured.

TMM rooms

Here, thanks to the introduction of the new furnishings, small sitting rooms have been created that can be reconfigured to create an additional one-and-a-half bed, to accommodate one or two children for the night or daytime rest hours.

But the renovation also concerns the services offered to customers. New relaxation and entertainment activities that make, and will make, your stay in the rolling hills of Monferrato extremely pleasant.

Starting in May, a piano/american bar will be available. This activity, available from early evening until around midnight on weekends until the end of May and every day from June onwards, will be available to guests, but also to outsiders not staying at the relais. The service will take place in the courtyard in front of the tasting room, where new furniture will create the piano bar lounge space.

sala degustazione

In the tasting room bar, a barman will prepare customers’ orders while a pianist will entertain customers by playing a grand piano.

Summer evenings and the colours of sunset creeping across the contours of the hills and villages in front of the Tenuta will become magic moments for guests at the Piano Bar. Music and taste will be actors that make the Tenuta Montemagno Relais & Wines experience even more unforgettable.

Carciofo confit

Artichoke confìt on roasted cauliflower cream, red cow parmesan mousse and candied lemon

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The cuisine of Tenuta Montemagno’s restaurant, La Civetta sul Comò, is led by Executive Chef Giampiero Vento, who proposes a menu composed of dishes made by combining the great Piedmontese tradition with a pinch of creativity and innovation.

For his early spring recipe, artichoke confìt on roasted cauliflower cream, red cow parmesan mousse and candied lemon, Chef Vento has selected a seasonal product typical of an area just a few kilometres from Monferrato: the spiny artichoke of Albenga. 

In the preparation of this recipe, Vento has added a fundamental ingredient, for him: memory, the call of memories of home cooking, with the aromas and flavours of good home cooking, of barbecues with friends… in short, all that baggage of extremely pleasant feelings and emotions that one wishes to replicate in one’s own preparations to donate to the palate of guests new elegance and interpretation.

carciofi

This appetiser dish has as its main protagonist, as mentioned, the artichoke, a vegetable that goes very well with first courses, fish and meat, but which the chef wanted to make the main subject of his recipe.

The first step towards confit preparation is to marinate the artichoke in plenty of oil, garlic and herbs. It is then steamed for an hour at about 70°, to avoid overcooking and to maintain a good consistency of the artichoke. The passage to the blowtorch to gently burn our ‘protagonist’ begins to add those flavours linked to memories such as the smell of grill and charcoal. Together with the artichoke we also burn some herbs, first and foremost rosemary, which will give a special touch to the flavours of the final dish.

The first touches of elegance are then added to the dish through the mousse of red cow parmesan cheese aged for 36 months.

Further ingredients that give a unique and personal style to the dish are the caramelised lemon peel, with sour and sweet notes at the same time to contrast the bitterness of the artichoke. The completion of the dish is rendered with a previously roasted cauliflower cream, which adds the final touch of elegance to this starter that is proving to be a great success with guests at the relais.

The wine to go with this dish is, according to our sommeliers, a strong and powerful white. We therefore recommend Tenuta Montemagno’s pure Timorasso Solis Vis. A structured white, capable of supporting courses typically accompanied by great red wines.

You can purchase Solis Vis from our online shop. So those who wish to try their hand at this preparation can complete the experience with pure Timorasso. On the other hand, we will be happy to welcome those who would like to taste the dish and wine directly at the estate, contacting us at reception to book a tasteful stay in Monferrato.

Solis Vis
Tenuta Montemagno in inverno

Work in the vineyard and cellar of Tenuta Montemagno at the end of winter

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Article written in collaboration with Roberto Nantiat and Gianfranco Cordero, winemakers of Tenuta Montemagno

A few days ago we entered the spring season, the period in which the vineyard wakes up from its winter rest and prepares to be reborn to bear those wonderful fruits that we will harvest at the end of the summer season. In the last article, we learnt what work had to be done at the beginning of the cold season.

In this one, we will see with Roberto Nantiat, the oenologist who, together with Gianfranco Cordero, follows the work at Tenuta Montemagno, what has been done in the second half of the winter and how we are preparing for the spring awakening.

Let us begin by pointing out that from January to the present (we are now in the last ten days of March), winter has been characterised by mild temperatures. 

Roberto Nantiat

Only in February, and for less than a week, temperatures dropped below freezing. As far as precipitation is concerned, it must also be said that it has been decidedly scarce, indicating a continuity of drought that has persisted since last year.

In the vineyard, all pruning was completed; the shoots that had been cut at the end of the harvest were removed completely.

Since the beginning of March, we have been bending and tying the fruit heads to allow the plants to start sprouting for the new vintage.

It was precisely in this latter period that a much faster vegetative recovery than normal vine activity was noted.

In fact, the presence of the first cotton buds was observed, a sign that these are swelling, when normally in March the first ‘weeping’ of the vines should have been seen.

It must be said, however, that these weeping did take place, even if, due to the low amount of water reserve, they were not as vigorous as can normally be observed.

Vigna inverno

The climatic changes observed last year, and in particular from the end of the 2022 harvest to the present, were the subject of a meeting between oenologists and Tenuta Montemagno’s agronomist, Maurizio Cerrato. The purpose of the meeting was to define a strategy to be implemented in order to deal in the best possible conditions with the adversities brought about by the weather and not only. In fact, this year a number of new natural-based products will be used to support the plants both against water shortages and to supplement and reinforce their defences against attacks by parasites and fungi.

In the cellar, bottling of all the white wines continued (an activity that should be completed by the end of March), while, again towards the end of the month, the TM Brut will be drawn, thus initiating the second fermentation in the bottle with yeasts and sugars to produce the bubbles. At the beginning of March, the Grignolino was bottled, while for all the other red wines the ageing phase continued, depending on the type of wine, in tanks or in barrels.We can say that the winter was a season of work to prepare the vineyards in the best possible way and to activate the strategies that will allow nature to work in the best conditions with. the arrival of fine weather. The next appointment with our editorials dedicated to Tenuta Montemagno’s vineyards and winery is scheduled for July; on that occasion we will be able to tell you what was done during the Spring 2023.

Tenuta Montemagno in inverno

Winter work in vineyard and cellar of Tenuta Montemagno

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Article written in collaboration with Roberto Nantiat and Gianfranco Cordero, winemakers of Tenuta Montemagno

A question that we often hear during guided tours of the cellar: “… but in the winter months the cellar is closed so you are on vacation?”

It would be really nice to be able to rest for so many months, but nature never sleeps!

Thus, after the 2022 harvest, in Tenuta Montemagno, as well as in all wine cellars, we enter the period of winter and pre-spring activities of maintenance in the vineyard and wine processing in the cellar.

vigna Timorasso in inverno

Let’s go back for a moment to October and November, when winter has not yet arrived in full force. In these months the plants marked out and cut during the months of July and August are removed to make place for the vine cuttings, planted in autumn and, after the cold months, in spring.

This is an important operation to always maintain a cultivation capable of ensuring a yield per hectare adequate to the production quantities expected in the years to come. It will take three years before the vine cuttings produce the precious fruits and can make their contribution to the production.

During the short days of the long winter months, ordinary maintenance works are carried out on the vineyard with the replacement of damaged poles and wires, in order to refine the arrangement and the supporting structure of the vineyard and prepare it for spring. We then proceed to observe the state of the soil after a year, 2022, characterized by extreme and persistent drought.

This year, to strengthen the root system of the vines, we carried out fertilization interventions with organic material; this operation ensures an increase in oxygenation for the nutrients present in the clods and improves the water retention conditions (during the expected rainy periods), and its release on sunny days.

cisterne Tenuta Montemagno

It is very important that the soil is in the best possible condition as early as spring to create a water reserve capable of helping the vineyard during the vegetative restart.

Now let’s move to the cellar, where constant temperature and humidity reign, a perfect microclimate for storing wine. About the end of autumn, the alcoholic fermentations are completed. We then proceed with the cold setting of the tanks for the white wines, regulating them so that they maintain a constant temperature of around 6°/8° C.

In this way the malolactic fermentation (which would lead to an undesired increase in the alcohol content of the final product) is blocked.

For red wines, on the other hand, this fermentation is stimulated by regulating the temperature of the tanks around 20°C. The consequent result is a softening and biological stabilization of the wine. Once these activities have been completed, and we have now reached the middle of winter, we proceed with the refinement and then with the bottling.

The winter of 2022-2023 was distinguished, from a climatic point of view and at least for the first period, by anomalous high temperatures. After the first cold days of November and a light snowfall, temperatures have risen almost excessively. Even before the mid-November cold, the leaves remained on the plants; the autumn foliage took place late, signalling, in practice, that the plants perceived that winter had not yet arrived and, in turn, delaying the dormancy phase. All this will involve a careful and precise intervention by our agronomist who will serve, on the one hand, to evaluate the state of the vines and, on the other, to give indications about any ad hoc interventions to be carried out before starting the spring pruning.

We will talk about the final winter works and those of early spring in the next article dedicated to the works in Tenuta Montemagno, scheduled for March/April. See you soon!

Tenuta Montemagno in tour a Praga con Barolo & Friends

17 January 2023, Prague: Tenuta Montemagno’s international tour begins

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The consortium for the promotion of I Vini del Piemonte confirms the stage in Eastern Europe to promote Piedmontese excellence in new and important markets. On Tuesday 17 January 2023, the second Barolo & Friends Event will be held in Prague, at the Eurostars Thalia Hotel.

Tenuta Montemagno in tour a Praga con Barolo & Friends

The initiative will be aimed exclusively at trade operators: importers, distributors, sommeliers, Ho.Re.Ca and journalists. This is an important opportunity to consolidate the market positions of our wineries, as Italian wine ranks first among imported products, with demand in the last 5 years growing in value by almost 20%, reaching 215 million euros.

Tenuta Montemagno will be present at this event, bringing for tasting:

  • TM Brut 24 months – classic Piedmontese method obtained by vinifying Barbera grapes
  • Mysterium – excellent red from Barbera d’Asti Superiore grapes
  • Solis Vis – white from 100% Timorasso grapes
  • Invictus – red from late harvest Ruchè grapes
  • Nobilis – red from Ruchè grapes