I Clivi | Bottled

THE FIORE

“The wines of I Clivi come exclusively from the finest part of the juice”

The “Fiore” is the juice you get from the first pressing of the grapes, the one that comes from the heart of the berry, when the skins and pulp have not yet been thoroughly pressed. The Fiore is the finest part of the must, drains naturally from the grapes broken by pressure of the mass formed by strictly just whole bunches, and thus is separated immediately from the marc, which may release, if further squeezed, aromatically rustic elements and factors of instability. It is very important at this stage to press whole grapes, and berries which have not been previously separated from their stalks and then broken, in order to get a clearer must with less extraction of gross lees and avoid oxidation. In the most widespread common practice,

the must is extracted up to a yield equal to 70% of the weight of the entire grape; instead, we stop the extraction of the must used for our wines at 60%. The skins are then returned to the vineyard as a natural compost, closing the circle.
The Fiore is a very limpid must, clear and clean, which leads to extremely fine wines, with splendid colors ranging from acacia honey with nuances of lemons in bloom. It is already a sufficiently clean and stable must, which does not need clarification, allowing the natural start of spontaneous fermentations without prior reduction in temperature for decantation.
Not least, it is a must that produces wines of extraordinary alcoholic moderation.

THE WINE MAKING

“A winemaking technique aimed at the maximum depth in wines”

Vinification of i Clivi wines is conducted strictly without contact between the skins and the must (maceration), except of course for the only red that we produce. The pressing is done directly of the whole grape, without prior separation of the stalks and the preliminary breaking of the berries. The grapes are carefully subjected to sorting before being placed in the press. The pressing is done at low pressure, with constant increments, without mixing of the mass crushed so as to reduce the extraction of gross-lees. The must drains naturally by the broken berries, and is poured slowly in stainless steel tanks where, with no need for decanting being already sufficiently clear, ferments on its own natural yeasts, until the complete transformation and reduction of sugars; as a matter of fact indigenous varieties of Friuli hardly endure the presence of residual

sugars, which undermine the full mineral expressiveness.
At i Clivi we use natural yeasts from the first harvest, in 1996, simply because it seemed immediately the best choice, for its simplicity and its beauty.
The same reasons made us choose the stainless steel for the tanks: neutral material, like glass, which allowed us to isolate the integrity of the raw material – the grapes – from interference and interactions with its container; to understand what was the matter in our hands, which the grape quality, which its character, its personality, its uniqueness, it was essential to gain knowledge and awareness of the must and wine that was absolutely independent of variables introduced from more invasive containers. Simplicity, neutrality, a cellar reduced to essentials.

“The lees are an extraordinary, natural maturation aid”

The solo use of oak we do is for the lees at the end of fermentation: after adequate separation from the clear wine, the finest lees are transferred in barrels with the aim of cleansing up, taking advantage of the interaction between tannins of the wood and organic matter of the lees, which it reverses their reducing properties in an anti-reducing effect. This treatment lasts thirty days, after which the lees are returned to their wine of origin, where they remain in constant suspension by agitation to ensure maximum exposure of the wine to the magnificent natural properties of this extraordinary natural adjuvant.
The maturation of the wines on their lees thus treated lasts from 6 to 18 months and beyond, according to the vintage,

the variety and the cru. The wines are in this way naturally stable and protected from oxidation, acquire lightness and depth, that depth which is the sensory equivalent of morphological development of the old roots in the subsoil of the earth.
The wines are separated from their turbidity using light filtration at the time of bottling, with a small addition of sulfur dioxide; the total sulfur amount is on average at around 50 milligrams per liter, a third of what is permitted for white organic wines (150 mg / lt maximum).
These are wines that express finesse, territoriality and personality, all in a frame of extraordinary alcohol moderation and great drinkability.