Ermes Pavese Blanc de Morgex et de la Salle 2022
Location: Italy, Valle d'Aosta
Winemaker: Ermes Pavese
Grapes: Prié Blanc
Soil: Sandy glacial moraines
Winemaking: After crushing and a 1-2 day maceration in the press, wine ferments with pied de cuve and selected yeasts in stainless-steel tanks. Pneumatic whole-cluster direct pressing. Wine remains on fine lees until assemblage prior to bottling. The majority (c. 80%) of vats go through spontaneous malolactic after alcoholic fermentation; in the remaining vats malolactic does not occur. 9-12 months in stainless-steel tanks with regular bâtonnage. Blended after pressing
Blanc de Morgex et de La Salle: A stunning wine from the highest vineyard site in Europe, with annual production of about 12,000 bottles of this austere, racy, mineral white wine with vivacity and length.
From the Importer Rosenthal: In the highest reaches of the Valle d’Aoste beneath Mont Blanc, Ermes Pavese harnesses the Prié grape to express the majesty of his alpine terroir. Located in the hamlet of La Ruine, between Morgex and La Salle, the estate has been making wine since 1999, when Pavese began marketing the family’s production under the advice of Marziano Vevey. Starting with only 2 ha of vineyards, Ermes has, in recent years, assembled numerous parcels scattered around Morgex and La Salle to increase his total holdings to about 6 ha. At about 1,200 meters above sea level, these are some of the highest vineyards in Europe.
Prié is the oldest documented cultivar in the Val d’Aoste, and is among the oldest in all of Italy. Genetic parent to, among others, Prëmetta and Mayolet, it gives crystalline wines of vivacity and precision when tended by a conscientious grower like Pavese. Pavese's vines, trained in the traditional Pergola Bassa system, are so isolated at the end of this valley that they are still planted on their origi- nal rootstocks, not threatened by the Phylloxera louse that devastated nearly all of Europe's vineyards at the end of the 19th century. Producing still, sparkling, skin-macerated and sweet wines, this domaine shows the majesty that wines of the alps can achieve. Illu- minating in their youth, recent tastings with some of the Pavese's oldest vintages illustrates the profundity and complexity that his wines take on after significant bottle age.