Toscana Rosso IGT “Hebo” 2022 – Petra

To produce the Toscana Rosso IGT “Hebo” Petra fermentation took place in stainless-steel vats at controlled temperatures with natural yeasts. The wine was mostly matured in Slavonian oak barrels. A small proportion was aged in French oak barriques (second- and third-use) for 10 months before additional ageing in tank prior to bottling. The wine was then aged in bottle for 10 months before release.

Hebo was the name of an ancient Etruscan settlement in Suvereto, an area where stony dry topsoils of tectonic origin are followed by a layer rich in manganese and other metals of alluvial origin. This wine is a classic assemblage of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Sangiovese introduced to Suvereto in the early 1800s.

Petra, created by the Moretti family of Bellavista, is a 300 hectare estate is situated in Suvereto in the Val di Cornia. When Vittorio Moretti and his daughter Francesca set out in search of a property in the Maremma in 1997, they asked Attilio Scienza, Italy’s most celebrated viticultural professor and consultant, to help them find the best spot. Scienza came up with Petra (the name is derived from the Latin for stone, or ‘pietra’ in Italian), which is to the southeast of Bolgheri and inland from, although facing, the sea. The estate now has 94 hectares of vineyard across three separate plots, which surround a splendid modernist winery built by the Swiss architect Mario Botta. Newly appointed winemaker Augusto Graziano and consultant winemaker Giuseppe Caviola work to ensure that the quality of fruit arriving in the winery is captured in the finished wines. In the vineyard, they are in the process of organic conversion, while the gravity-fed winery has been designed to ensure as gentle a treatment of the grapes, must and wine as possible.