91 Pts Antonio Galloni - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

"The 2005 Villa Fidelia boasts an expressive, sweet bouquet that leads to gorgeous dark red cherries, flowers, spices and menthol. The wine shows tons of balance and delicate yet well-integrated tannins. Villa Fidelia is 70% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 10% Cabernet Franc that spent 12 months in French oak barrels ranging from one to three years of age. This is another gem from the Sportoletti brothers. Anticipated maturity: 2010-2020."

"Sportoletti is one of Umbria’s leading properties. This is another set of very strong wines from the Sportoletti brothers. Consulting oenologist Riccardo Cotarella oversees winemaking, but these delicious wines stand out for the qualities of the raw materials as much as they do for what goes on in the cellar." 91 Points - Antonio Galloni - Wine Advocate

ESTATE:
"Sportoletti is one of Umbria’s leading properties. Consulting oenologist Riccardo Cotarella oversees winemaking, but these delicious wines stand out for the qualities of the raw materials as much as they do for what goes on in the cellar.” – The Wine Advocate, April 2009

"For generations, the Sportoletti family has always also been passionately dedicated to producing wine in Umbria. At the end of the 1970s, brothers Ernesto and Remo decided to turn their attention exclusively to winemaking. With great reverence for the teachings of their father Vittorio, they began to bottle wines under their own label. From that point on, they began a long journey in pursuit of the perfect balance between innovation and tradition, endeavoring to unleash the full potential of their territory, situated on the hills between Spello and Assisi where they now own 20 hectares of vineyards from which they produce an average of 200,000 bottles per year."

In 1998, the company decided to join forces with the highly esteemed agronomic and oenological consultant Riccardo Cotarella, thus marking the start of a highly successful professional collaboration as well as a valued friendship. They regularly replant their vines and cultivate them using the spur pruning system and high density planting. With 5,000 vines per hectare, they are able to control the number of buds and consequently the productivity of the vines. For the reserve wines, a first harvest of the grapes is carried out while the grapes are just beginning to ripen, in order to obtain an average yield of 1 Kg of grapes per plant. Vines currently cultivated include the indigenous Grechetto, for which they chose the G5 clone, a lower yielding yet more characteristic strain. The Merlot they grow is a particular massale clone that was selected and propagated from an old vine that had been on the property for fifty years and which, over the years, has given rise to one of their most successful wines. Specific clones of Sangiovese that provide a lower yield but are much richer in color were also chosen, the same holding true for their Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc." -Importer