L'Acino Il Raglio dell'Asino 2019

Il Raglio dell'Asino — The Scream of the Donkey — is a 100% Greco Bianco from L'Acino, based in San Marco Argentano in the Province of Cosenza, Calabria. The Greco Bianco vineyard sits at 650 meters elevation on the border of Pollino National Park, Italy's largest protected natural area. Vines are spur-trained on sandy soils over sandstone (arenaria) bedrock with iron-rich clay subsoil, exposed to the north, which keeps temperatures cooler than most of Calabria and preserves natural acidity.

The grapes are hand-harvested, direct-pressed, and fermented spontaneously with indigenous yeasts in stainless steel. The wine ages on the lees in stainless steel for 12 months before bottling. It is bottled unfined and unfiltered, with only a small addition of sulfur at bottling.

Greco Bianco near Pollino shares a close ampelographic relationship with Mantonico Bianco — a distinct variety from the better-known Greco di Tufo of Campania. In this high-altitude, north-facing site, the grape produces a dry white with firm acidity, mineral drive, and aromatic complexity that runs from ripe stone fruit and almond to floral and herb notes.