Quintodecimo
BACKGROUND
The Quintodecimo estate is located in a mountainous interior zone of Campania known as Irpinia. It is a beautiful area where climate, soil and vines coexist in an extraordinary balance, that has fortified over the centuries, to the point of creating ideal natural conditions for the production of high quality wines. The climate, because of the Apennine ridge, is characterized by abundant rainfall (average annual rainfall 600-800 mm), extreme temperatures, snowy winters and mild summers, with average temperatures which are never excessive. The Irpinia landscape is very original for an environment in southern Italy with endless greenery, lakes, woods and mountains covered, often up to the peak, with chestnut, beech and oak trees. Quintodecimo is in Mirabella Eclano in the heart of the Taurasi DOCG distribution area. It is located about 80 km north-east of Naples on the crest of a small hill facing northwest with a gradient of 25% to 460 meters above sea level 41 ° 02 '80'' north latitude and 14 ° 59' 41'' of east longitude.
At Quintodecimo, the vineyards are real gardens where each plant is treated, in detail, in order to obtain the best fruit. It's adopted viticulture is highly respectful of the soil, microclimate, and plant biodiversity of the area with the primary objective to obtain mature fruit that is perfectly healthy, completely intact and wholesome. Precise organic farming is performed without the use of products which are harmful to the plant, to man, or to the environment and without the use of herbicides and fertilizers. Soil management is completely mechanical and soil fertility is supported by appropriate agronomic practices such as revegetation, mulching, and green manure. The objective at Quintodecimo is to produce wines strongly tied to the land in which the vines live taken care of by man.
The name of the winery, Quintodecimo, pays homage to the ancient story of Mirabella Eclano. Aeclanum was a primitive settlement dating back to the Neolithic period situated on the Appian Way in the fertile valley of the Calore River. In the II century B.C., Aeclanum became a Roman colony but with the arrival of the Lombards, it was annexed to the duchy of Benevento
In 663, during the conflict between the Lombards and Byzantine population, it was destroyed by the Greek army of Costante II and renamed Quintum decimum because of its distance (fifteen miles) from Benevento, the main town of the Sannio territory. Between the X and the XI century A.C., the center of the town moved to the hill’s ridge and in the XIV century assumed the name of Mirabella Eclano. Quintodecimo’s wines were born in a very ancient territory to which they have a strong bond and an absolute commitment to producing high quality wines
The WIne
Quintodecimo’s logo is inspired by the solar system: five moons orbiting along an ellipse around the caption Quintodecimo in harmony with a circle and a square built on the letter, inspired by the famous “Vitruvian Man” by Leonardo da Vinci as a tribute to the originality and extraordinary eclecticism of one of the most important men of science in the history of humanity. The label essentially illustrates Quintodecimo’s fundamental elements: the logo with five moons and the caption in the background, “Vignaioli in Mirabella Eclano” (Wine makers in Mirabella Eclano); the motto “merum carmen telluris elatum”, an illustration of the vineyard with four birds in the sky representing the future, the wine’s name and its relative denomination.
VINI BIANCHI
Three white wines are produced at Quintodecimo, obtained from the vinification of the three main varieties of white Campania grapes: Fiano, Falanghina and Greco. The grapes come from three individual vineyards located in the production area of each cultivar, called, respectively: Exultet, Giallo D'Arles and Via Del Campo. Exultet’s vineyard is located in Lapio, the maximum areal expression of the Fiano grape; Giallo D’Arles’s vineyard is at the cradle of Greco di Tufo; Via Del Campo’s vineyard was planted in Mirabella Eclano a site particularly suitable for a full expression of the potential of the Falanghina grape. So Quintodecimo white wines, there are three cru single-varietal, are strongly influenced by the vintage in the expression of their varietal character.
VIA DEL CAMPO IRPINIA
FALANGHINA DOC
Via del Campo perfectly expresses all the fruity and mineral character of Falanghina. It is a cru obtained exclusively with grapes from a single Falanghina vineyard located in Mirabella Eclano. It has bright golden yellow hues and aromas ranging from notes of apple, pineapple, aromatic herbs, and wildflowers to refined brackish and mineral tones. The enveloping structure releases delicate mentholated and toasted sensations deriving also from the short rest, during fermentation, in small oak barrels. Of immediate pleasure when young, it evolves into an even more complex bouquet after a few years of bottle.
EXULTET
FIANO DI AVELLINO DOCG
Exultet is a sophisticated and elegant interpretation of Fiano di Avellino. It is a cru produced exclusively with the grapes of one Fiano vineyard. It is yellow and luminous with green reflections and fragrances of linden, acacia and thyme. It is well-structured with flavors of exotic fruit, citrus and honey and a very soft mineral note. This particular elegance also derives from a partial fermentation in small oak barrels. It is a wine with great longevity which can also age for some decades thanks to its richness in precursors of aroma and the integrity of its freshness and taste. The name given to the wine derives from Exultet of Mirabella Eclano, which gives tribute to bees. Exultet are liturgical parchments from the southern Italian Middle Ages. A kind of multimedia product made up by parchment papers sewed together, where the texts of Benedictio Cerei were written accompanied by musical notations and miniatures put on the opposite side of the sheets.
GIALLO D'ARLES
GRECO DI TUFO DOCG
The Greco di Tufo grape is characterized by a content of coloring matter higher than the other white grapes of the Campania region. For this reason, at full maturation, this grape becomes golden with amber tones on the sun-exposed side. The must is reddish ochre. The wine, if not clarified, has an intense golden color. Giallo d’Arles is an extreme and rigorous interpretation of the Greco di Tufo wine. It is a cru produced with one vineyard of Greco grapes. The ancient yellow-golden color, typical of the denomination, is more intense also thanks to the partial fermentation in new oak barrels and thanks to the complete absence of any clarification treatments. It is a white wine with the structure of a red wine, powerful and refined, characterized by a deep minerality blended with flavors of apricot and quince marmalade and by a full and fresh taste. Giallo d’Arles has also an extraordinary predisposition to maturation in bottle, obtaining year-by-year elegance, complexity and harmony. The name given to the wine is a tribute to Van Gogh’s favorite color during his stay in Arles: a yellow which is a prelude of red.
VINI ROSSI
Three red wines are produced at Quintodecimo, all with Aglianico, the noble indigenous red variety of Campania. The essence of Quintodecimo is that of bringing wine back to the vineyard that created them in order to fully express the concept of terroir. This effectively explains how the grapes are the result of the interaction between the environment surrounding each vine, the plant itself and the work of man. The different soils of the estate, consisting of expandable clays in light and dark volcanic soil, produce sophisticated fine wines characterized by extraordinary elegance.
TERRA D'ECLANO IRPINIA
AGLIANICO DOCG
Terra d’Eclano is produced with grapes from five separate vineyards entirely with Aglianico grapes. It is a seductive and elegant wine with complex aromas of berries, plums, licorice, and coffee. It has an enveloping structure with soft and silky tannins and a long finish with freshness and elegant mineral prevailing along with notes of balsamic and spices. The high complexity and the deep structure of Aglianico, grown directly in the vineyards, give Terre d’Eclano an extraordinary ability for long aging in the bottle.
VIGNA QUINTODECIMO
TAURASI RESERVE DOCG
Taurasi reserve Vigna Quintodecimo is a cru from two hectares of Aglianico, obtained from the same vineyard, planted in 2001 on the north-west side of the estate. The soil is made up of expandable clay rocks very rich in limestone. The vineyard, situated at 420 meters of altitude with a slope of 25%, is cultivated with a cordon spur training system and has a density of 5.000 plants per hectare.
Vigna Quintodecimo is a fine balance of small fruits, floral notes and spices. Seductive class and aromatic intensity is complemented by savory tannins and well expressed in a profound and refined style. It is a wine of extraordinary richness and elegance that reaches its peak within the first twenty years and still retains its character for many years after.
VIGNA GRANDE CERZITO TAURASI RESERVE DOCG
Taurasi Riserva Vigna Grande Cerzito is a cru from one hectare of Aglianico, planted in 2004 on the south side of the estate. The soil, created by ashes and pumices, is volcanic, without limestone, well drained, deep and with rough texture. These conditions allow an elevated availability of oxygen for the roots. The vineyard, situated at 440 meters of altitude with a slope of 15%, has a density of 5.000 plants per hectare and is cultivated with a cordon spur training system. Vigna Grande Cerzito is characterized by refined flavours of cherry, plum and chocolate and by a full and delicate structure. Great longevity, it becomes even more delicate and elegant with the passing of the years complementing with fresh notes of mint, eucalyptus and incense.