Quartara Lunarossa 2021

Quartara is a brilliant expression of Fiano vinified in amphora with extended skin contact: a great interpretation of the Monti Picentini terroir in the Salerno area, and a flagship of the Lunarossa winery. It owes its name to the particular type of amphora used, called 'quartara': terracotta jars with ancient rural origins, once widespread in southern Italy for wine preservation and abandoned for years in cellars. This is a kind of successful experiment, revived from the past as an alternative to cold steel containers and modern wooden barrels. Thus, this clear and genuine white is born, with an unaltered look, capable of revealing the most sincere soul of the Salerno territory.

For the production of Quartara, small quantities of Santa Sofia grapes are also used, a white grape variety very similar to Fiano and now forgotten, cultivated in Cilento until the 19th century. The Fiano and Santa Sofia grapes are destemmed and placed with the skins in 250-liter quartara, where fermentation occurs spontaneously. This fermentation and maceration process can last, depending on the vintage, from 60 to 90 days: the grape skins gradually release color and aromatic substances, and the wine gains structure also thanks to contact with the fine lees. Once this process is completed, the wine rests in oak barrels for about a year and is bottled without filtration and clarification.

Thus, Quartara Lunarossa presents itself as an intense and complex white wine with an intense golden yellow color, slightly opaque. Its bouquet is rich and broad, recalling candied fruit, honey, ginger, spices, anise, and fennel. On the palate, it reveals a full and voluminous sip, endowed with a fresh and mineral personality, leading to a persistent and vanilla finish. We are talking about a wine with a good aging potential, already in great shape, but we are confident that over time it can reach peaks of great excellence. The modernity and the ancient tradition pulse in unison at the heart of the Quartara.