Current Wines
Below is Montemaggiore's portfolio of current-vintage wines, reflecting our focus on mountain-grown estate Syrahs. Due to limited production, some wines may only be available to Club members (who must login to order). Note that information on our winemaking philosophy in general can be found below.
Montemaggiore specializes in Syrah because it's our favorite varietal—but above all, our terroir yields Syrah grapes with exceptional flavors! Due to our focus on a single varietal, we can research, experiment, and perfect the growing and vinification of Syrah to bring you world-class wines.
Minimalist Approach
When it comes to winemaking, Montemaggiore takes the minimalist approach—we don't like to add to, subtract from, or otherwise manipulate the wine. This philosophy reflects the traditions of our Italian ancestors, who have proven that minimalism maximizes the preservation and expression of the unique flavors of the grapes' terroir.
Preserving our Uniqueness
Being our winemaker, Lise believes that nature usually does the right thing when not interfered with—which is the way wine has been made for centuries. For example, we:
- harvest at optimal ripeness by hand for clean, unbroken fruit
- destem the grape bunches gently with little or no crushing; and
- sort the grapes by hand to ensure careful selection
We process our grapes and age our wine with a gentleness and minimalism usually reserved for the finest Pinot Noirs (known to be the most sensitive of varietals).
Experimentation
Just because we are minimalists, doesn't mean we don't like to experiment. For example, we've experimented with natural fermentations (also known as spontaneous fermentations), where we don't add yeast. We've experimented with whole cluster fermentations, in other words not destemming the grapes. Lise might even argue that both these experiments are even more minimalistic. Of the experiments, some have turned into regular practice, and others we won't repeat anytime soon—but either way, because we specialize in a single varietal and only utilize grapes from our own estate vineyards, our experiments are particularly edifying!
