Estate Regaleali
Vintage 2017
San Lucio was the first large vineyard established on the Regaleali Estate, from which the first and subsequent editions of Rosso del Conte were created. It covers about 7 hectares, of which 5.5 were planted in 1959 with mixed plants of Perricone and Nero d’Avola, while a portion of about 1.5 hectares was planted in 1965 solely with Nero d’Avola. The vineyard is 480 metres above sea level, with a south-south-east exposure. The soil is yellowish brown, loamy-sandy, partly calcareous, with a slight amount of skeleton; the pH is slightly alkaline (8.5). The oldest vineyard of Regaleali usually gives a medium level of vigour to the vines, a prerequisite for the balanced ripening of red medium-late grapes. It is capable of resisting the effects of extreme climates, whether hot or cold, and produces only a few grams of grapes per plant, but of an incredible constancy in quality. The vines are cultivated as bushes, the oldest and most widespread technique in the semi-arid regions of the Mediterranean. The planting density, amounting to 4,400 plants per hectare, is also classic, and is realised by placing the vines at a distance of 1.5 metres from each other. At Regaleali, short pruning is adopted for red varieties, with three-four spurs of two buds.
Often short pruning is carried out in association with a brace for tying up the shoots that develop from the spurs.
The two varieties, Perricone and Nero d’Avola, have a similar vegetative cycle: they are fairly late grapes, which ripen on average between the end of September and the beginning of October. Faithful expression of the territory from which it comes – the high hills in the centre of Sicily – on an aromatic level, Rosso del Conte never exceeds in overripe notes while still ensuring a full phenolic maturation. Exuberant, vibrant, energetic in its youth, with ageing it develops a velvety tactile texture, without losing tone or taste progression. In its long history, it has known different stylistic variations, in particular in the technique of ageing: chestnut barrels, Slavonian oak, small French oak barrels. However, it always maintains its unique identity.