Azienda Agricola Martilde (www.martilde.it), as we stated earlier, is the creation of Antonella Tacci (renaissance woman) and her long time companion and partner Raimondo Lombardi (ghiro!). They farm and work the small winery in the hills of the OltrepoPavese in the northwest of Italy. The estate covers some 15 hectares and their yield and production are very small at just 4,000 to 5,000 cases a year. Their labels are delightfully whimsical paintings by Antonella, mainly of their beloved animals. In fact the winery itself is named after two of their cats, Martina and Matilde (above). And as you can see, our pick this week is named for Nina, one of many dogs they live with.
This pinot nero, or pinot noir as more commonly known, smells like a bowl of cherries and rose petals. There is a subtle underlying scent of cinnamon or cooking spices. She styles her pinot to be more traditional than modern which has produced a wine that tastes of herbs, lavender and violets with more cherry fruit and a beautiful spearmint minerality in the finish. it's just so fresh considering it's a 2005.
Stop in and check it out...
Martilde Pinot Nero "Nina" 2005 $15 a bottle
