In the spring of 1979, Renzo Cotarella, a young agronomist who will produce the wines of the estate in less than ten years, arrived at the Castle. In those years, he soon began to work on an ambitious varietal regeneration project. This was aimed at obtaining white wines with a greater personality than those produced in the Orvieto Classico area. He worked on chardonnay and he deepened his knowledge of Grechetto.

Climate

The year 2008 was truly one to remember:arather mild winter was followed byaspring with veryintense rains, which, in turn, was followed byasummer filled with beautiful weather. This climatic progression ended in veryinteresting harvest, which began with the picking of the firstvarietals towards the end of Augustand finishing with the last ones during the first few days of October. The beautiful weather which characterized the entire period of harvesting allowed a calm and systematic collecting of the bestand most perfectlyripe grape bunches, thereby giving us excellent raw material to work with. The Chardonnay grapes intended for the production of Cervaro della Sala were harvested around the last days of August, offering excellentaromas which allowed the wine to achieve a
wonderful balance, express great fragrance,and have great structure,along with good alcohol content

Vinification

The grapes originate from 15-20 year old vineyards located on the propertysurrounding Castello della Sala,atan
altitude of between 200 and 400 metersabove sealevel. The origins of these soilsare from the Pliocene era, rich in
marine fossils with sections of clay. As soon as the grape bunches were harvested, they were transferred onto a
refrigerated conveyor in order to ensure low temperatures during the processes of crushing and destemming. The
varietals were fermented separately: in order to enhance theiraromatic properties; the musts were left in contact
with the skins for 8 to 12 hoursatatemperature ofabout 10°C. After this process, the musts were transferred to
225-liter new French barriques (Allier & Troncais), where alcoholic fermentation took place overa period of 14
days. The wine remained in contact with the lees in the barriques forapproximately 6 months, during which time
malolactic fermentation took place. The wine was then blended and bottled. It was subsequentlyaged foranother 10
months in the historic wine cellars of Castello della Sala before being introduced on the market.

Historical Data

The name Cervaro comes from the noble familythat owned Castello della Sala during the 14th century,
Monaldeschi della Cervara. A blend of Chardonnay grapesand asmall quantity of Grechetto make a wine that can
age over time and represent the elegance and complexity of this unique estate. Cervaro della Salais one of the first
Italian wines to have malolactic fermentation and aging take place in barriques. The firstvintage of Cervaro to be
produced was the 1985 vintage.
Tasting Notes

Cervaro expressesan intense fragrance with aromatic notes of citrus, pears,and acaciaflowers, which blend with
hints ofvanillato heighten the wine’s complexity. It is full-flavored and well-structured, with sweet notes of butter
and hazelnut, while simultaneously persistentand minerally. The wine is intended for evolving and aging well in the
bottle.

Awards

• Associazione Italiana Sommelier “Duemilavini 2011” Guide     Cinque Grappoli
• Gambero Rosso “Vini D’italia 2011” Guide     Tre Bicchieri
• I Vini Di Veronelli 2011     Super Tre Stelle