Eldorado Road Comrade Nero d'Avola 2021

'Sadly 2021 proved a difficult year for volume across our Eldorado block of Nero d’Avola, with only around 40% of the average making its way into our winery. In the end we only bottled 195 dozen. As is often the case with low yields, there is a silver lining; the quality was exceptional. The berries were full of our much-desired natural acidity, complemented by complex flavours at a lower Baumé as well as vibrant colours in noticeably darker shades than we normally see. We split the fruit into four micro ferments, which included;

•        10% Whole bunch

•        100% Whole bunch carbonic maceration in custom puncheon fermenters

•        Destemmed and crushed

•        Whole berry in Italian Nico Velo concrete tulip

Our Comrade Nero d’Avola is really where we turn the dial up in terms of work in the winery. We deploy a diverse range of winemaking techniques across a large number of small ferments so that when it comes time for the final blend, we have a number of complex elements to layer together. All ferments were lightly hand plunged daily and they all spent between 12 and 20 days on skins before being gently basket pressed directly into oak. Maturation occurred over 12 months on full lees in seasoned French oak puncheons and barriques.

 Unfined, filtered gently, vegan-friendly, and hand bottled on site January 2022.'

- Eldorado Road