Maculan will be a new name to wine drinkers in the UK. However, on the evidence of a recent presentation and tasting, they will hopefully become much better known as their wines are excellent!
Maculan Winery is located in the town of Breganze within the small Breganze DOC region in the heart of the Veneto 🇮🇹. Approximately one hour's drive from Venice and Verona, the winery lies in the foothills of the Altopiano di Asiago, also known as the Asiago Plateau, renowned for its beauty, as well as the local Asiago cheese.
The altitude of the region rises to just over 1,000m above sea level, which protects the nearby vineyards, predominantly south-facing, from northern winds. The summer sunshine and cooling breezes result in a large diurnal range that benefits the grapes, helping the wines maintain their characteristic freshness and quality of fruit.
Maculan winery was officially created in 1947 by Giovanni Maculan, but before that, his father had already been making wine for his small osteria and for the army stationed there during World War II. In the decades that followed, he continued to buy in grapes and make large quantities of 'vino bianco' and 'vino rosso', sold in demijohns to local bars, restaurants and shops.
The Maculan family: Maria Vittoria, Faust & Angela (left-to-right)
Then in 1973, his son, Fausto, who had graduated from Conegliano as a winemaker, took over the running of the business. In order to improve quality, he visited other wine areas, including Friuli for the whites, Tuscany and Piemonte for the reds. Additionally, France was and remains a big inspiration. This led to him investing in state-of-the-art machinery for the winery and eventually his own vineyards. Initially, these were leased, but within a few years, he began buying land and planting vineyards.
Today Maculan manage 50 hectares of vineyards and buy in about 10-15% of their grapes from local farmers. Total production is around 600,000 bottles a year, with 50% red, 30% white and 20% dessert wines for which they are particularly well-known. Fausto continues to manage the business with his daughters, Angela and Maria Vittoria.
The Breganze DOC area measures approximately 600 hectares with 17 wineries. Around 70% lies on the hills, much of which is of volcanic origin, characterised by tuff and basalt, with clay and silt soils also present. The remaining 30% is located on the flatter plains nearer the Astico river with soils typically consisting of gravel, white pebbles and limestone. "As a style, we prefer the grapes that come from the volcanic side of the DOC", says Angela Maculan.
Maculan's vineyards are planted on hillsides, within the town limits of Breganze and Fara Vicentino, on mainly volcanic, rocky soils. They also lease one vineyard on gravel soils for their Vespaiola (see below).
Harvesting Vespaiolo grapes at Maculan
Most grape varieties are of French origin, including Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Pinot Noir for the reds, while their only native north-east Italian red grape is Marzemino. The white grapes are Pinot Bianco, Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Tai (aka Friulano) and the local grape, Vespaiolo.
Six distinct wines were showcased at the recent tasting and these are described below:-
Vespaiola is a unique white grape variety, almost exclusively planted in the Breganze area. It has a very long vegetative cycle, budding early, but picked later than most of the other whites, usually around the third week of September.
The grape is characterised by bright acidity and, although known mainly for producing passito-style dessert wines, it's very versatile, used for both Metodo Classico sparklers and, in this case, still dry white wines.
This wine is stainless steel-fermented, spending two months on its lees and production is around 30,000 bottles.
The wine press uses nitrogen to prevent any oxygen contact with the juice, preserving the aromatics and crisp acidity of the grape variety. Angela Maculan describes further the benefits of this kind of vinification. "We saw a big change since we started using this press machine. Vespaiola has benefited the most, because it's sensitive to oxidation and the aromas are very delicate."
🍇 Grapes: 100% Vespaiolo.
🎚️ ABV: 12%.
🔍 Appearance: Bright pale gold.
👃 Nose: Aromatic and floral with notes of spring blossom, apricot, white peach and honey.
😋 Palate: Crisp, fresh and dry with citrus notes, refreshing acidity and a touch of grated almonds and minerality on the finish.
🍽️ Food Pairings: This wine pairs perfectly with the local speciality, Baccalà alla Vicentina (Vicenza-style slow-cooked, air-dried cod), served with polenta, as the acidity cuts through the richness of the dish and matches the lightness of the polenta too. However, it will go well with many simple white fish dishes, cheeses and summer salads.
Brentino is a blend of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. It's stainless steel fermented and then half is aged in stainless steel tanks and half in used French oak. This wine is meant to be drunk young, but can also age for many years.
The blend of these two French varieties, a tradition in the area with both grapes thought to have been introduced by Napoleon, is Maculan's most produced wine. They first started making it in 1981 and volume figures are now 90,000-100,000 bottles per year.
🍇 Grapes: 50% Merlot and 50% Cabernet Sauvignon.
🎚️ ABV: 13.5%.
🔍 Appearance: Deep dark red.
👃 Nose: Notes of forest berries, blackcurrant and balsamic.
😋 Palate: Black cherry, spice and cassis notes with hints of liquorice and cedarwood plus well-balanced, approachable tannins and a long finish. The mouthfeel remains fresh throughout with a light touch, while the level of alcohol feels a little lower than it actually is.
🍽️ Food Pairings: This is a fresh, fruity, versatile wine which could be served lightly chilled as an aperitif, or would pair beautifully with hard cheeses, turkey and light steaks.
Palazzotto is the name of the original vineyard, in Strada del Palazzotto, used to make this wine since 1982. However, while the name has been kept, it's now made from a blend of the second selection of Cabernet Sauvignon grapes, grown on different hillside vineyard plots. The wine has a short maceration to extract colour and tannins, is fermented in stainless steel and then aged for one year in 50% new and 50% used French oak barrels. Production is around 35,000 bottles.
🍇 Grapes: 100% Cabernet Sauvignon.
🎚️ ABV: 14.5%.
🔍 Appearance: Dark ruby red.
👃 Nose: Notes of cassis and red cherry with gentle hints of mixed berries, tobacco, coffee and liquorice.
😋 Palate: Notes of blackcurrant, black pepper spice and dark coffee grounds plus soft touches of cedarwood and vanilla with fine-grained tannins. The mouthfeel is full and rich, but well-balanced acidity adds vibrancy and freshness.
🍽️ Food Pairings: A good pairing for red meat or lentil dishes with a rich sauce and to accompany mature hard cheeses too.
The 1977 vintage provided Fausto Maculan with particularly high quality Cabernet Sauvignon. As a result, he decided to make a wine from those grapes without blending. Influenced by French winemaking and wine culture, he began to use the name of the vineyard location and grape variety for this wine, replacing the Vino Rosso label previously used, a groundbreaking move for the region. Additionally, he was one of the first in Breganze to use French barriques for ageing wine. So, Fratta was born, named after the local hill and street.
In those days, they bought in fruit. However, since 1997, Maculan's flagship wine is made from the best selections of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot grown in their own vineyards, then vinified and aged separately, before being blended following regular blind tastings.
This wine has been aged for 18 months in 80% new and 20% second-use oak.
🍇 Grapes: 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot.
🎚️ ABV: 14.5%.
🔍 Appearance: Bright ruby red.
👃 Nose: Highly aromatic with notes of blackcurrant, loganberry, tobacco, leather and wood smoke.
😋 Palate: Rich, juicy and elegant with notes of cassis, prune and blueberry plus touches of vanilla, oak spice and parma violets. The finish is long, warming and slightly smoky with a hint of sweet olive.
This wine feels quite young, but is still very drinkable. Tannins are a little tight, although beautifully integrated, pinpointing the way to good ageing potential.
🍽️ Food Pairings: Venison stew, roast beef, cheese fondue.
Maculan make four different dessert wines, representing 20% of their production. The following two, showcased at the tasting, proved distinctive and beautifully expressive.
Dindarello is made in the passito style, with the grapes dried for one month, before being lightly pressed. The wine is fermented and then aged in stainless steel tanks for two years to make a light, easy drinking, approachable dessert wine. First made in 1972, total production today is around 90,000 bottles a year. Although made to be drunk young and fresh, it can age very well too.
🍇 Grapes: 100% Moscato Fior d'Arancio (Moscato Giallo).
🎚️ ABV: 11.5%.
🍬 Residual Sugar: 110g/L.
🔍 Appearance: Bright gold.
👃 Nose: Floral and intensely aromatic with notes of spring flowers, apricot, honey and a touch of frangipane.
😋 Palate: Sweet, full of flavour and long, yet simultaneously light and delicate with notes of caramelised peach and apricot, honey nougat, a touch of dried pear and crisp acidity.
🍽️ Food Pairings: Perfect with tarte tatin or similar fruit-based pastry desserts, cheesecakes and mild blue cheeses.
In contrast to Dindarello, Torcolato is made from Vespaiola and is the original style of this grape variety, mentioned in literature as far back as 1754.
The word Torcolato appeared for the first time in 1848, derived from the local word 'torcolare', meaning twisted. This refers to the traditional method of twisting grape bunches together with string to form a braid and then hung from the ceiling to dry, again in the passito style, for four months from September to January.
Traditionally, this style of wine was used on special occasions and so, when Fausto took over the running of the business, he decided to bring back this 250-year old tradition of the area. There are 13 other producers of the Torcolato style in Breganze, but Maculan remain the biggest, making more than half of the total volume.
The grapes come from different vineyards on the plains and hillsides. They are hand-harvested and a selection is made depending on how loose or compact the clusters are. A loose cluster allows the air to circulate freely between grapes for the drying process, so these will be chosen for Torcolato. The remaining grapes are used for the regular Vespaiolo.
This wine is aged for one year, in a mixture of new and used French oak.
🍇 Grapes: 100% Vespaiolo.
🎚️ ABV: 14%.
🍬 Residual Sugar: 150g/L.
🔍 Appearance: Bright gold with a copper tinge.
👃 Nose: Notes of honey, fig, sultanas and grated almonds with touches of candied lemon and vanilla.
😋 Palate: Succulent notes of sultanas and honeyed peach with nutmeg, almonds and orange zest plus a touch of vanilla custard. This elegant dessert wine has great acidity and freshness, which ensure the sweetness is never cloying, while the finish is admirably long.
🍽️ Food Pairings: Mature hard or blue cheeses, almond-based croissants and biscuits, panettone.
Braids of drying grapes for Torcolato
All these wines show freshness and vibrancy, defining features perhaps of their volcanic origin, as well as the altitude and cooling breezes blowing across their vineyards. Tannins in the reds are not aggressive, which makes these wines even more appealing to a modern audience. There's no lack of complexity either and even the richer, denser wines retain a light touch, while showing excellent food compatibility. As Angela Maculan remarks: "All our wines have big shoulders, but at the same time, good acidity, minerality, elegance and finesse. People always say that Italian wines are made to go with food because of the acidity and finesse. That's definitely something you will find with all our wines."
… and I'll drink to that!
Maculan wines are imported into the UK by Berkmann Wine Cellars.
