Piede Franco
The young winery Piede Franco interprets the wine essence of Sulcis, particularly the island of Sant’Antioco, a magnificent viticultural territory made up of sands and sea winds, where small Carignano vines find their home. It is precisely the highly sandy matrix of the area that has allowed the preservation of specimens of ungrafted vines, that is, not grafted onto American rootstock, as occurs in almost all global viticulture. In fact, the strong sandy component of these soils counters the phylloxera, a formidable pest that at the end of the 1800s brought European viticulture to its knees, preventing the aphid from spreading and attacking the roots of the vine. It is from this rare cultivation situation that the estate of Roberto Matzeu takes its name, founded in 2015 within the municipality of Calasetta with the intention of enhancing the invaluable wine heritage of the territory.
The Sardinian estate Piede Franco develops over just 5 hectares of vineyards, cultivated with the Latin bush training system on sandy soils, surrounded by Mediterranean scrub and caressed by the strong salty breezes of the Maestrale. In addition to Carignano, symbol of Sulcis, Roberto Matzeu cultivates small percentages of the international grape varieties Syrah and Cabernet Franc, a result of an experiment that led the winemaker to plant these grapes on rootstock, after finding a component of clay and trachyte in part of the vineyard, unsuitable for the ungrafted cultivation of Carignano. In the winery, fermentations take place at controlled temperatures in stainless steel tanks, in order to enhance the freshness and aromas of the wine, while for the subsequent aging phase, French oak tonneau and barriques are used, containers capable of imparting further complexity.
The production of the Piede Franco winery is focused on Carignano del Sulcis, a historic Sardinian denomination that Roberto Matzeu enhances through the Riserva ‘Bellesa’, a red wine from ungrafted vines over 80 years old that stands out for its intense and authentic Mediterranean personality. The expression of ‘Perdularju’ is also very intriguing, a label born from the meeting between Carignano and international grape varieties.
The young winery Piede Franco interprets the wine essence of Sulcis, particularly the island of Sant’Antioco, a magnificent viticultural territory made up of sands and sea winds, where small Carignano vines find their home. It is precisely the highly sandy matrix of the area that has allowed the preservation of specimens of ungrafted vines, that is, not grafted onto American rootstock, as occurs in almost all global viticulture. In fact, the strong sandy component of these soils counters the phylloxera, a formidable pest that at the end of the 1800s brought European viticulture to its knees, preventing the aphid from spreading and attacking the roots of the vine. It is from this rare cultivation situation that the estate of Roberto Matzeu takes its name, founded in 2015 within the municipality of Calasetta with the intention of enhancing the invaluable wine heritage of the territory.
The Sardinian estate Piede Franco develops over just 5 hectares of vineyards, cultivated with the Latin bush training system on sandy soils, surrounded by Mediterranean scrub and caressed by the strong salty breezes of the Maestrale. In addition to Carignano, symbol of Sulcis, Roberto Matzeu cultivates small percentages of the international grape varieties Syrah and Cabernet Franc, a result of an experiment that led the winemaker to plant these grapes on rootstock, after finding a component of clay and trachyte in part of the vineyard, unsuitable for the ungrafted cultivation of Carignano. In the winery, fermentations take place at controlled temperatures in stainless steel tanks, in order to enhance the freshness and aromas of the wine, while for the subsequent aging phase, French oak tonneau and barriques are used, containers capable of imparting further complexity.
The production of the Piede Franco winery is focused on Carignano del Sulcis, a historic Sardinian denomination that Roberto Matzeu enhances through the Riserva ‘Bellesa’, a red wine from ungrafted vines over 80 years old that stands out for its intense and authentic Mediterranean personality. The expression of ‘Perdularju’ is also very intriguing, a label born from the meeting between Carignano and international grape varieties.
