2021 Maculan Brentino

55% Merlot, 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, hand harvested from estate vineyards and fermented in temp-controlled stainless steel with regular punch-downs. The two wines are aged separately for 1 year, 50% in stainless steel and 50% in French barriques, and then blended and aged in bottle for several months before release. 13.5% alcohol.

A über-classic Bordeaux blend, elegant and juicy at the same time, and offering aromas of ripe berry and cherry, followed by notes of fresh spices and light toast. Finishes dry, with balanced acidity and firm tannins. Perfect for pastas with wild boar ragout, or roasted game.

Founded in 1947 in Breganze, a small town in the Province of Vicenza (Veneto), Maculan is now at the 3rd Generation of winemakers. Fausto Maculan, who took over in the 1970s and made Maculan a benchmark producer in Italy, has passed the baton to his two daughters: Angela and Maria Vittoria. In pure Breganze style, Maculan makes wines from both native and “international” varieties, which have been introduced by the French and the Austrians in 1800, and hence here are considered traditional. Like other Producers of his generation, Fausto Maculan is considered one of the pioneers of quality Italian winemaking: in a time when wine consumption in Italy was still largely relegated to non-descript table wine, he was among the first to put the varietal name and his name on his front labels and to invest in labor intensive vineyard management and quality-oriented winemaking techniques.