Nero di Troia, Violante
Violante is the result of Rivera’s wish to marry Nero di Troia’s classic complexity and marked scent of violets to a fruity and approachable wine.
Sourced from Andria in the northern part of Castel del Monte D.O.C. area, vines are planted on deep calcareous soils at an altitude of 200-230 metres and trained to the spurred cordon system at 4,800 vines per hectare. Yield is kept as low as 110 q./ha
Harvest is carried out in the mid- October. A 9-10-day maceration in stainless steel vats with careful pump-overs and micro-oxygenation ensures the extraction of aromatic and colour components without exceeding in tannin content. The technique of ‘Delestage’ is employed – a fermentation and maceration technique that gently extracts phenolic compounds by oxygenating the juice to produce a softer, less astringent wine exhibiting more fruit character. The wine is aged for 12 months in vitrified (glass lined) concrete vats undergoing more micro-oxygenation.
Bright purple-red colour; forward complex aromas and rich bouquet that intrigues as there is no one fruit character that is to the fore. Medium-bodied palate with a great structure; fruity and mineral with a lingering and long finish
Perfectly complements pasta with a hearty sauce, meats and ideal with the local cheese Burrata di Andria (a cow or buffalo milk cheese made from mozzarella and cream).
About the Producer
Rivera
Sebastiano de Corato founded the Azienda Vinicola Rivera in the late 1940s, inspired by the enormous viticultural potential of the Castel del Monte area.
Widespread recognition quickly followed and since then Rivera has become the benchmark of Puglia quality wine. Today, with the involvement of the third generation of the family – Sebastiano and Marco – Rivera continues to express the intense yet elegant character of native grape varieties.
The winery’s winemaking philosophy is rigorously applied to every step of the process: vineyard management, grape harvest, winemaking, maturation and bottling; the most up-to-date viticultural and oenological practices are married to the deepest respect for natural processes, with all activities focused on achieving environmental and economic sustainability and on continuous improvement in quality.
A modern, efficient winemaking facility houses small stainless-steel fermenters, custom-designed for on-the-skins macerations for the reds and rosés. The glass-lined cement vats were an innovation in the 1960’s and are now fully temperature controlled.
The entire winery complex served by a solar-panel installation that covers 70% of its energy needs.
Castel del Monte is one of Apulia’s most exceptional winegrowing areas, which received its DOC designation in 1971 and its DOCG in 2001.
The area is divided into two areas of different landscapes and soil types. Above 300m is the hard-limestone rocky plateau of the Murgia with traditional vineyards trained to spalliera bassa, or low vertically-trained canopies cultivated among pastures and fields. Between 180 and 300m is deep and loose tufa-limestone soils hosting olive groves and vineyards. The area is characterised by a Mediterranean climate – marked by cool and rainy winters, and hot and dry summers tempered by the sea breezes.
“Rivera is one of the great estates in Italy.
The estate excels with their reds, which are not only gorgeous in absolute terms, but also exceedingly fairly priced. … Rivera makes wines that capture the exuberance that Puglia is capable of, while maintaining a gorgeous sense of structure. Readers who want to discover the wines of Puglia would do well to start with Rivera.”
Antonio Galloni – The Wine Advocate
