2008 Pietramora Fattoria Zerbina: The Review Of A Great Romagna Sangiovese
The 2008 Pietramora from Fattoria Zerbina is an amazing, colossal and ambitious red wine, born to challenge the years. So dense and layered that it is only today, after 14 years, that it begins to show all its opulence and potential.
Not that 5 years ago it was bad, of course not!
It’s just that with this extract and this concentration, time becomes a fundamental ingredient for the development and pleasantness of the wine. If you are looking for a light red wine to pair with a salmon fillet, change the page: this is a monument to Romagna Sangiovese, one of the best vintages of the Fattoria Zerbina.
How it is produced
It is not a pure one. In fact, in addition to Sangiovese, we find a small balance of Ancellotta, little stuff: 3%. The grapes come from three company crus, all located in the hills of Marzieno, which extend around the estate. The farm chosen is the classic sapling, with a planting density ranging from 10,000 plants to 8400. If you have never taken a walk in the Zerbina vineyards, you have missed one of the most evocative views of all of Romagna.
After the harvest, the grapes are de-stemmed, fermented, and macerated for 15 days. Aging takes place in barriques for one year, with 70% used barrels, and then for another year in the bottle.
Organoleptic characteristics
The bouquet is austere, a heart of impressive darkness: pitch, balsamic returns, fanned out of eucalyptus and cocoa, ripe fruit dripping with orange juice, but never expires in the overripe. The tone is severe and intense, and the wood only acts as a shoulder, enriching but not marking.
It is broad and sumptuous on the palate, with a mammoth structure, but still fresh and snappy.
The nervousness of Sangiovese is still there that winds its way through this shady wood, but the fire has subsided, leaving room for a meaty and seductive evolution.
The pulp is still good and duets with the ripe tones. The tannins give consistency to the sip without ever biting, despite being dense and drawn with sharp precision—earthy finish of touching gracefulness.
As soon as it is uncorked, it must be left to re-emerge in the present calmly. Give it a couple of hours, and it’ll wake up, losing the initial reduction.
It is a wine with a narrative air that knows how to trace a terroir and translate it into liquid emotions, even if it still struggles to be recognized as outstanding.
It is not an immediate wine: the concentration and heat are penetrating, but the drinkability is excellent despite this. Don’t think about muscles and arrogance, but depth and aromatic three-dimensionality. Thickness bites, layer by layer.
Food Pairings
Black truffle risotto, passatelli with Parmigiano fondue and truffle, bucatini all’amatriciana, roast beef, hamburger.