Mea Culpa

“Mea culpa” means “my fault” . An expression that Mario Minini from the Cantine Minini winery uses as irony for the result of his excellent red wine creation. Because he has composed the best cuvée that, in his opinion, can be produced using the appassiomento process.

Meaculpa Vino Rosso

subtle chocolate and tobacco notes on the nose, then a strong, warm fruit of cherry, strawberry and blackberry, plus fine notes of vanilla and mocha; a lively acidity, round tannins and an elegant body with a fine structure on the palate; noble wood notes of tobacco and vanilla in the aftertaste

Mea culpa

“MEA CULPA, please forgive me, but this is the best wine I’ve ever made.”
This grandiose wine was born from a brave idea by Mario Minini. Every year, after the harvest is over, Mario sits down with his team of oenologists to taste the new vintages together. During these endless rounds of tastings, the desire to create a perfect wine, according to his ideas, grew in him.
“MEA CULPA, please forgive me, but we’ll do it now as I say! It will be the most accurate cuvée, with the greatest excellence and expression, no matter what it takes.”
This is how this unique, wonderful and also provocative Appassimento cuvée was created. Because in the tastings, the wines from three specific locations repeatedly stood out with their particular excellence and great potential. Two of the vineyards are in Sicily, but the third vineyard is in Puglia! As with a Bordeaux blend, the aim is for the wines to complement each other perfectly in their different characteristics.
In the Salento wine-growing region, 40-50 year old vines grow in the “Alberello” vineyard. As usual for the Puglia region, these are Primitivo grapes. Due to the age of the vines and the lack of water, which is particularly prevalent in this vineyard, the yield is relatively low. The grapes are harvested and selected by hand. About 35% of the grapes are used for the Appassimento process and dried for 30 days. They lose 30% of their weight. The grapes are macerated for 8-9 days before fermentation. This ensures sufficient extraction without introducing hard tannins into the wine. Then the fermentation takes place at 28 – 30 °C. A 6-month expansion in French barriques follows.
The second component of this wine is an Appassimento Syrah from an exposed location in Sicily. The grapes stay on the vine for a long time until they too have lost about 30% of their weight.
To round off the cuvée perfectly, it is complemented by a soft but powerful Merlot, which harmoniously connects all parts. The grapes macerate for 4 – 5 days in order to obtain the necessary stability for aging in barriques. After fermentation the wine is aged for 6-7 months in new French oak with a medium degree of toasting.

awards

Mundus Vini: Gold
Luca Maroni: 94 points
Falstaff Germany: 90 points