Select your language
English Italiano

Enter site

CORTONA: La Lombarda

This vineyard is divided into five parcels and produces grapes for our Vignola and Cantaloro. La Lombarda currently has a total of 20.35 hectares under cultivation, at an elevation of 300m above sea level.
It has deep, sandy, lime-clay soil from Pleistocene sediment, with a neutral to sub-acid pH.

The Vineyard site
PINOT NERO SAUVIGNON BLANC MERLOT LA FRANCA GHISU

Click on one of the Areas for more detail

© 2011 Tele Atlas / Image © 2011 GeoEye

&nbps;
VINEYARD A: PINOT NERO
HECTARES There are 3.17 hectares under cultivation in this parcel.
MAIN GRAPE VARIETIES Pinot Noir.
ALTITUDE 300m above sea level.
ORIENTATION This parcel has a northwestern orientation.
YEAR OF PLANTING The vines were planted in 1998.
PLANTING SYSTEM The vines are bush trained.
PLANT DENSITY The planting density is 7,158 vines per hectare.
SOIL Deep, sandy, lime-clay soil from Pleistocene sediment, with a neutral to sub-acid pH.
WHAT WINES THE VINEYARD CONTRIBUTES TO At the moment we do not produce a Pinot Nero wine.
VINEYARD B: SAUVIGNON BLANC
HECTARES This parcel has 6.53 hectares under cultivation.
MAIN GRAPE VARIETIES Sauvignon Blanc.
ALTITUDE 300m above sea level.
ORIENTATION The Sauvignon Blanc parcel has a northwestern orientation.
YEAR OF PLANTING The vines were planted in 1998.
PLANTING SYSTEM These Sauvignon Blanc vines are all bush trained.
PLANT DENSITY The vine density is 7,158 plants per hectare.
SOIL Deep, sandy, lime-clay soil from Pleistocene sediment, with a neutral to sub-acid pH.
WHAT WINES THE VINEYARD CONTRIBUTES TO Vignola Toscana IGT
VINEYARD C: MERLOT
HECTARES This parcel has 4.3 hectares under cultivation.
MAIN GRAPE VARIETIES Merlot.
ALTITUDE 300m above sea level.
ORIENTATION The Merlot parcel has a northeastern orientation.
YEAR OF PLANTING The vines on this parcel were planted in 2000.
PLANTING SYSTEM All the vines on the Merlot parcel are bush trained.
PLANT DENSITY The vines are planted at a density of 7,158 plants per hectare.
SOIL Deep, sandy, lime-clay soil from Pleistocene sediment with a neutral to sub-acid pH.
WHAT WINES THE VINEYARD CONTRIBUTES TO Cantaloro Toscana IGT
Desiderio Cortona DOC
VINEYARD D: LA FRANCA
HECTARES A small parcel of 0.98 hectares.
MAIN GRAPE VARIETIES Merlot.
ALTITUDE 300m above sea level.
ORIENTATION La Franca has a northwestern orientation.
YEAR OF PLANTING A recent parcel, planted in 2001.
PLANTING SYSTEM All the vines on La Franca are bush trained.
PLANT DENSITY The vines are planted at a density of 7,158 plants per hectare.
SOIL Deep, sandy, lime-clay soil from Pleistocene sediment with a neutral to sub-acid pH.
WHAT WINES THE VINEYARD CONTRIBUTES TO Cantaloro Toscana IGT
Desiderio Cortona DOC
VINEYARD E: GHISU
HECTARES A parcel with 5.37 hectares under cultivation.
MAIN GRAPE VARIETIES Trebbiano, Malvasia and Sangiovese.
ALTITUDE 300m above sea level.
ORIENTATION Ghisù has an east-west orientation.
YEAR OF PLANTING One of our oldest parcels, Ghisù was planted in 1973.
PLANTING SYSTEM The vines here are bush trained.
PLANT DENSITY The planting density is 7,158 vines per hectare.
SOIL Deep, sandy, lime-clay soil from Pleistocene sediment with a neutral to sub-acid pH.
WHAT WINES THE VINEYARD CONTRIBUTES TO Bianco Avignonesi 2010
Wines and grapes from this vineyard
  • Desiderio Merlot Cortona DOC Desiderio Merlot Cortona DOC
  • Cantaloro Toscana IGT Cantaloro Toscana IGT
  • Vignola Toscana IGT Vignola Toscana IGT
SAUVIGNON BLANC Originally from the Bordeaux region of France, Sauvignon Blanc is known for its characteristic, aromatic profile. As the main ingredient in some of the world’s most popular fresh, young white wines, Sauvignon Blanc is one of the white varieties grown in the Cortona DOC region. Avignonesi grows its Sauvignon Blanc in the vineyards of La Lombarda. Sauvignon Blanc wines are generally refreshing and suggestive of grass, herbs, grapefruit, nettles, musk, green olives, limes, gooseberries and melons.
PINOT NOIR Today, Pinot Noir is one of the world’s most popular varieties, thanks to its attractive aroma profile. It is also one of the most difficult to grow for quality wines. The Ancient Romans knew Pinot Noir, one of the oldest grape varieties used for winemaking, as Helvenacia Minor. Pinot Noir can be soft and velvety on the palate, full-bodied and rich, yet not heavy. Burgundy is recognised as the area of reference for the best expressions of this variety. The extremely complex aroma can be intense, with notes of ripe grape or black cherry and hints of spiciness like cinnamon or mint.
MERLOT Merlot is a grape that is found in some of the world’s most popular red wines, including some of the most renowned Bordeaux blends. It has a smooth, minty, lush fruit flavour, suggestive of currants, black cherries, plums, violets, rose, caramel, cloves, bay leaves and green peppercorns. We grow Merlot grapes in the Cortona area which brings forward a full-bodied, sensual character of this variety, that we use in 2 of our premium wines, Desiderio Cortona DOC and 50&50 Toscana IGT, as well as in the young Cantaloro Toscana IGT.
TREBBIANO TOSCANO Trebbiano Toscano is an antique white variety of Etruscan origin. This grape produces a wine with a dry, crisp finish. It is one of the two grapes we use in our Vin Santo di Montepulciano DOC, and it lends its characteristic crispness to our Vignola IGT.
MALVASIA Malvasia is characterized by its pinkish colour and its peach, apricot and white currant aromas. It is also a grape that produces some residual sugar. Young Malvasia wines have a rounded and soft feel in the mouth. Dried Malvasia grapes are often used in blends for sweet wines such as our Vin Santo di Montepulciano DOC.
SANGIOVESE Sangiovese is known as “the king of Tuscany” and dominates central Italy’s winemaking. With its name meaning ‘blood of Jove,’ Sangiovese is grown principally in central Italy and is the dominant variety in Tuscany. It has several clonal variations such as Brunello, Sangiovese, Morellino and Nielluccio. Sangiovese is used as the main grape for Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, as well as in Brunello, Chianti and Chianti Classico. The Sangiovese grape was already a well-known variety as far back as the 16th century. Recent DNA research suggests that its ancestors were the ancient Tuscan Ciliegiolo and the almost extinct Calabrian Calabrese Montenuovo varieties. Making good Sangiovese wines requires the vines to be planted at the correct density to help control crop vigour, using clones and rootstocks selected specifically for the area, and training the plants properly. We monitor the fermentation temperatures carefully so as not to burn the grapes’ delicate bouquet. Sangiovese produces rich, fruity wines with a flavour profile that includes sour cherries and plums, violets, blueberries, strawberries, orange peel and thyme.
Back to overview >
Stories
23 Mar 2013

The Story Behind the Label: Grifi

A griffon (in Italian, grifo, with the plural being grifi, pronounced gree-fee) is the emblem of Montepulciano and a legendary creature with the body, tail, and hind legs of a lion, and the head, talons and wings of an eagle. By drawing on the lion as king of the beasts and the eagle as king.. Read more
29 Jan 2013

Ashleigh Seymour at the New York Vintners on February 5, 2013

On Tuesday, 5 February, 2013, Ashleigh Seymour, the co-winemaker at Avignonesi will lead a personalized tour of Montepulciano, Italy, and her wines at the New York Vintners Winemaker Dinner Series. Established in the 16th century, Avignonesi is widely considered the benchmark for Vino Nobile.. Read more
26 Oct 2012

Avignonesi Extra Virgin Olive Oil - it’s the season!

Harvest: all expectations, fears and hopes are concentrated into these few, intense weeks. All the actions we take over the course of the year, the way we choose to harvest, the attention we show to the grapes, and the speed with which we work all have a major impact on the final product - our.. Read more
02 Nov 2010

Harvest Report 2010

2010 was full of memorable developments and it began in earnest when Laura Lenzi took over vineyard management at Avignonesi in February. To the surprise of the experienced vineyard crew, some members of which have more than thirty years’ experience, she ably guided 100 hectares of vines.. Read more
12 Dec 2011

Tecnoma Technology for Tilling

If there’s one thing Laura Lenzi, our resident agronomist, would like you to know about the new tractor at Avignonesi it’s that “the machine is a happy compromise between brute power and weight.” In other words, it’s like a strong woman: delicate enough to get the job done well, but not so.. Read more
View more stories