Dirupi

Region: Lombardia

Production: 35,000 bottles

Site:www.dirupi.com

Background

Dirupi is tucked away in the center of the rugged Alpine valley known as the Valtellina in the region of Lombardia. The winery is housed in a 16th century building within the medieval town of Sondrio. This is where the owners Pierpaolo Di Franco and Davide Fasolini grew up together playing basketball and picking grapes.

Each year helping with the local harvest as was the custom in this tiny alpine village. They both found their passion for wine making in Sondrio and returned after attending the University of Milan to study Enology. In 2004 with newly minted degrees in hand, the duo sourced 4.5ha of 18 ancient terraced vineyard sites throughout the Valtellina. These vineyards dot the steep hillsides above the winery in Sondrio and are sprinkled throughout the towns of Montagna, Poggiridenti, Grumello and Inferno.

The Terroir

The Valtellina is all about altitude, altitude, altitude, and the Dirupi vineyards reach 650 m (2100ft) making their fruit some of the highest altitude Nebbiolo in existence. The top soils here are sandy and gravelly giving excellent drainage having been scraped by ice flows and snow melt for millennia. Consequently, many large rocks are left in the vineyards which retain heat during the day and release it at night, helping the grapes achieve their maximum ripeness and balanced acidity.

The roots of the Dirupi vines are forced deep down into the poor soil to acquire nutrients and hydration from the rich mineral deposits left during the last ice age. In this rough landscape each plot was chosen for its particular aspect, altitude, and exposure in a great effort to maximize sun, humidity, and other micro-climactic conditions. Only due to this careful and labor intensive effort is Dirupi able to achieve the great clarity and elegance which mark their wines today.

Necessarily and by choice, the farming and harvesting here is all done by hand. The work is slow and treacherous. Indeed, the word Dirupi itself, means crags or cliffs, and was chosen because of the difficult steep terrain of the vineyards. Each terraced plot is supported by hand made rock walls over 1,000 years old.

The WIne

Today, after great effort and hard work, all Dirupi wines and vineyards are certified organic. This is an incredible feat given the inherent challenges of this harsh environment. A total of 35,000 bottles are produced and sell out every year upon release.

DIRUPI OLE'!

ROSSO DI VALTELLINA DOC

Location: Sondrio and Montagna in Valtellina
Altitude: 400 - 450 m a.s.l.
Contact must with skins/peel seeds: 10 - 12 days
Steel: 6 months
Varietal: Chiavennasca (Nebbiolo)
Farming Practices:  sustainable, certified organic
Vineyard: multiple vineyards in Grumello and Inferno
Soils: sandy, acidic moraine soils
Trellis system: Guyot
Exposure: S on 30-70% slopes
Fermentation: destemmed / stainless steel fermentation with maceration of 14 days
Yeast: selected indigenous / inoculated
Malolactic: full
Maturation: 8 months in stainless steel / 3 months in bottle
Filter:    paper
Fining   no
Alcohol 12.59%
Production 8,000 bottles

DIRUPI VINO SBAGLIATO SFORZATO DI VALTELLINA DOCG

Location: Tresivio
Farming Practices: sustainable, certified organic
Varietal: Chiavennasca (Nebbiolo)
Trellis system: Guyot
Vineyard: Chioso (historic vineyard site replanted by Dirupi)
Soils: sandy, acidic moraine soils
Hectares/Acres: 0.75 ha
Altitude: 600m - 650m
Exposure: S on gentle slope
Year Vines Were Planted: 2005
Yeast:  selected indigenous / innoculated
Fermentation:  destemmed / stainless steel fermentation with maceration of 10 days
Malolactic:  full
Maturation: 12 months in French 1st, 2nd and 3rd use oak barriques / 12 months in bottle
Filter: paper
Fining: no
Alcohol 15.67%
Production: 1,100 bottles

DIRUPI VIGNA GESS VALTELLINA SUPERIORE DOCG

Location: Grumello
Farming Practices: sustainable, certified organic
Trellis system: Guyot
Vineyard: Gess (historic vineyard site replanted by Dirupi)
Soils: sandy, acidic moraine soils
Hectares: 0.75 ha
Altitude: 433-516m
Yeast:  selected indigenous / innoculated
Fermentation:  destemmed / stainless steel fermentation with maceration of 25-30 days
Malolactic:  full
Maturation: 24 month 5hl barrels / 12 months in bottle
Filter: paper
Fining: no
Alcohol: 14.5%
Production: 1400 bottles

DIRUPI VALTELLINA

SUPERIORE DOCG

Location: Grumello and Inferno
Vineyard: multiple vineyards in Grumello and Inferno
Soils: sandy, acidic moraine soils
Varietal: Chiavennasca (Nebbiolo)
Altitude: 450 - 600 m a.s.l.
Wooden: One year 20-35 Hl. Oak France
Farming Practices: sustainable, certified organic
Trellis system: Guyot
Year Vines Were Planted: 1965-2010
Yeast:  selected indigenous / inoculated
Fermentation   destemmed / stainless steel fermentation with macerations of 15-30 days based on the altitude of the source vineyard
Malolactic:  full
Maturation: majority of wine ages in 20-30 hectoliter French Allier oak for 18 months / small portion in 225L barriques – different treatment also based on source
Filter:   paper
Fining   no
Alcohol 14.26%
Production 8,000 bottles