Cuculaia aims to be a living wine experiment, a journey to the extreme frontier of quality, in search of the limit to which Syrah can be pushed in the terroir of Cortona.

It is produced only in years considered excellent, exclusively with Syrah grapes grown in our vineyards in Cortona, all characterized by very low yields per hectare (maximum 40 quintals from 5,000 plants), carefully selected throughout the year - especially before and during the harvest - specifically to create this wine, coming from the parcels considered (in the specific year) of the highest quality and, in particular, from our favorite vineyard, called Cuculaia.

The harvest is carried out strictly by hand (usually not before mid-September) and the grapes are collected in small 15 kg perforated crates; after an extremely soft crushing and destemming (to leave the grapes intact), the alcoholic fermentation takes place (usually spontaneously, thanks to indigenous yeasts) in steel tanks at a controlled temperature, for about 15 days; the subsequent maceration of the skins lasts at least another four weeks.

The malolactic fermentation involves only the free-run must (the wine obtained by pressing the marc is never used for the production of our wines) and occurs spontaneously, without inoculation of bacteria; it is followed by a long period (at least 24 months) of refinement on the noble lees in the best French oak barrels, from Allier, Nevers and Tronçais.

The selection continues in the cellar, based on periodic tastings from each individual barrel; at the end of this long and laborious process, only a few hundred bottles (maximum 2,000) of Cuculaia are produced.

Cuculaia is a powerful wine, but at the same time harmonious and balanced, with excellent consistency. It expresses intense and decidedly elegant olfactory notes that recall black pepper, meat, ripe berries, dried fruit, black cherries and blackberries, red roses, followed by perceptions of sweet spices such as dark chocolate, cinnamon and liquorice, with an elegant and mineral finish of graphite.