Ermes Pavese 'Blanc de Morgex et de La Salle', Valle d'Aosta, Italy 2021

In the very northern reaches of Italy, in the Valle d'Aosta, sits the highest growing site in all of Europe. Located in the hamlet of La Ruine, between Morgex and La Salle (in the shadow of Mont Blanc), Ermes Pavese has been growing and bottling limited quantities of Prié Blanc since 1999. A minerally, floral and racy white grape, Prié is one of Italy's most ancient documented white grapes. Ermes sources his from 6 hectares of pre-phylloxera vines that are planted at the isolated western edges of the valley. This is a bottle to nerd out on!

• Winemaker: Ermes Pavese
• Farming: Practicing Organic
• Variety: 100% Prié
• Terroir / Soils: Pre-phylloxera (own-rooted) vines, 3-50 years old, pergola trained. Planted in south-facing vines in small, scattered parcels surrounding the villages of Morgex and La Salle, 3,000-4,000 feet above sea level. Soils are sandy glacial moraines.
• Vinification: Manual harvest. After crushing and a 1-2 day maceration in the press, wine ferments with pied de cuve and selected yeasts in stainless-steel tanks. The grapes are pressed by pneumatic whole-cluster direct pressing. The wine remains on fine lees until assemblage prior to bottling. Partial malolactic fermentation occurs in tank. Bentonite fined, sterile cross filtered.  84mg/l total sulfur
  
• Aging: 9-12 months in stainless-steel tanks with regular bâtonnage (sitrring of the lees).
• Tasting Notes: Stunningly racy, this wine is light-bodied and minerally, with aromas of lemon blossom, wet stone, underripe apricot and a long, complex finish that makes you feel as if you're enjoying summer in the Alps.