Masi Tupungato Passo Doble Malbec / Corvina

Description

Masi Tupungato Passo Doble really is an Argentinian / Italian crossover – Argentinian soul & Venetian style. This is a Corvina / Malbec blend made using the Apassimento technique, most famously used in Valpolicella.

Argentinian Wines with Italian Know-How

Masi Tupungato is a project by Masi Wines, one of the very best wine producers in the Veneto wine-growing region of Italy. Masi are famous for making fantastic Amarone (amongst other wines) using the Apassimento technique.

Not only have they bought their wine-making techniques to Argentina, they have also bought, probably, the most famous red grape variety from the Veneto region, Corvina and blended it with Argentina’s most famous grape variety, Malbec.

Masi are famous for making fantastic Amarone (amongst other wines) and for using the Apassimento technique (which Masi call “appaxximento”), whereby the grapes are dried to concentrate their sugars and flavors before fermentation. This technique is used in the big brother of this wine, the Masi Tupungato Corbec, which is also available to buy at Fareham Wine Cellar.

Vigneti La Arboleda

Their first planting of grapes in Argentina was in the 1990s. The estate, called Vigneti La Arboleda,  consists of 140 hectares, of which eighty are currently planted with both Argentine varieties (Malbec and Torrontés) and Venetian grapes (Corvina and Pinot Grigio).  Vineyards are situated at 950-1050 meters elevation in the Tupungato valley, with organically poor soil composed of many stones, sand and chalk, with good mineral content.

A Corvina / Malbec Blend

Masi Passo Doble gets its Argentinian qualities of generosity, strength and exuberance from the Malbec grape, while its Corvina component gives it the style, elegance and warmth typical of wines from the Veneto.

It is made using fresh Malbec grapes with a percentage of lightly dried Corvina grapes which brings full aromas, good structure, and soft tannins to the blend making for a quality wine with the potential for long ageing.

Masi Tupungato Passo Doble Malbec / Corvina Winemaking

• Corvina Grapes Processing:
  • Whole Corvina grapes undergo brief appassimento treatment before pressing.
  • Second fermentation induced with selected yeasts.
  • Fermentation lasts 15 days at 18-20°C.
• Final Fermentation:
  • Followed by malolactic fermentation.
• Ageing:
  • Masi Tupungato Passo Doble aged for 9 months in French oak barriques before release.
• Blend Composition:
  • Typically 85% Malbec and 15% Corvina.
• Bottling and Certification:
  • Bottled as Rosso di Argentina.
  • Organically certified.