Serafini & Vidotto, Phigaia Cabernet Franc 2018

The Merlot grapes are picked at the end of September and the Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes are picked in late October. All grapes are manually harvested and transported to the gravity fed winery. After a period of maceration the grapes are pressed and fall through into to the level beneath to ferment. The building is designed to remain at perfect temperature for the wine, it is very rare that they use thermostatic temperature control. The wine is aged for 13 to 18 months, dependant on the variety and vintage in oak. Finally it is transferred to bottle to mature for a minimum 2 years more.

Serafini & Vidotto are two old schoolfriends who decided to unite their talents and passion for high quality wines and vineyards, and so back in 1986 they purchase 20 hectares of vineyard land and ventured into the winemaking world. From the very beginning, they chose to plant and make wines from international varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot, though the pair has recently begun working with a once famous but now forgotten native grape, Recantina. In fact, Serafini & Vidotto has long been considered one of, if not the best producers of Cabernet wines in North Eastern Italy. Increased production numbers and mounting success meant that the two friends were forced to build a bigger cellar. Thanks to a collaboration with a renowned architect, the result was a very modern, two story, gravity-flow winery. Over the years, the wines of Serafini & Vidotto have met with such success that in the November 2006 issue of the Gambero Rosso magazine, Serafini & Vidotto's most famous red, the Rosso dell Abazia, was placed in twentieth place among fifty Italian wines that had most often won the magazine's top Tre Bicchieri award.