TERROIR
There is constant debate over the meaning of this term between those who want to limit it to the interaction between the vine and the environmental factors (climate, soils) which characterize a determined territory, and, on the other hand, those who include human intervention as an expression of local traditions and cultures with their personal interpretative experience of the latter which are then transferred onto and influence the final result, that is the wine.
In France, where this concept was formed, they lean towards this broader meaning which is also the one we prefer.
In fact wine itself does not exist in nature, it is a product of human culture.
From this statement stems the conviction that the character of a wine, as well as being evidently the result of a determined gene (vine, clone) and environment (climate, soil), is deeply influenced both by the shared knowledge and traditions of the territory of production and by the inclinations, the conscience and the individual history of those who produce it.
“Terroir Le Chiusure” is therefore the attempt to recognize and make our peculiarity known, whether that comes from the earth of our fields or from a more abstract and apparently distantly related thought; and thus to define an identity, working so that it surfaces and is perceived in our bottles of wine.
“Terroir Le Chiusure” aims also at being a kind of self-certification and a guarantee for those who buy products with the brand name Le Chiusure.
OUR VINEYARD. AGE AND VARIETY
The grapes used to produce our wines – the only ones for which we can give an absolute guarantee of quality, soundness and origins – are exclusively those harvested on our land.
This is the particular characteristic of an independent vine grower.
We have just over three hectares of vines, all in the area of San Felice del Benaco in the countryside of Portese, where today we have 15.451 vines.
Our vineyard contains the following varieties:
| Variety |
N° vines |
% of the vineyard |
 |
| Groppello |
4.904 |
32 |
| Barbera |
3.434 |
22 |
| Rebo |
2.922 |
19 |
| Sangiovese |
1.944 |
12 |
| Merlot |
1.472 |
10 |
| Marzemino |
775 |
5 |
|
| Total |
15.451 |
100 |
Today , in 2010, the age of the vines is as follows:
18 years old 26%
13 years old 22 %
10 years old 11 %
7 years old 23 %
4 years old 19 %
In the past twenty years, we have never even bought one single bunch of grapes from other vineyards, and so we mean to go on. Should we ever make any choices which differ from the above, we promise to declare so in our salesroom and on this site.
In our area summer storms and hailstorms are quite frequent and these can damage the grapes in the vineyard, pushing the vine grower to take measures by purchasing a substitute product..
Our response to this risk has been quite different..
ANTI-HAIL NETS
Today our vineyard is 100% protected by anti-hail nets – using a vertical “apron” system which does not create shade, suited to grapes for quality wines - to save the only grapes on which our project of quality, soundness and identity can be based.
On many occasions the anti-hail nets have protected us from small or large-scale damage to the quality, enabling us over the years to bring perfectly whole grapes to the cellar; even in August 2002, when an extremely violent hailstorm produced damage in our area to 80-90% of the quantity, we only lost 5% of our product; and we made wine, as in all the other years, from our grapes.
Why do we consider it so important to work only with our grapes?
Because they are the only ones on which we can base a project of quality, soundness and identity of the product.
QUALITY OF THE RAW MATERIALS
Our prime requisite for our grapes is quality: at the time of harvesting we want them to have reached that point of ripeness which makes them suitable to produce great wines.
Many factors contribute to this end but here we wish to underline the most relevant: two basic choices (elevated density of planting and grass-growing in the vineyards) and a choice which is made each year in the vineyard (the thinning of the bunches of grapes).
Density of planting
Our vineyards have all been replanted to a density of between 5000 (first planted in 1991 – 1992) and 6500 plants per hectare (last plantings in 2000, 2003 and 2006). This enables us to produce a little on each plant and it is well-known that this is the first rule of quality.
Grass coverage
Grass growing is an agronomic choice made about fifteen years ago which has proved to be a success concerning the characteristics of our soils and our climate. We allow the grass to grow spontaneously in the vineyard, tending it so as to guarantee balanced development and to ensure that it grows constantly throughout the whole season.
Especially in rainy years grassy soils guarantee healthier grapes which ripen sooner, as a result of better balanced plants: they are less vigorous, they produce less, the bunches of grapes are less compact, with increased thickness and content of polyphenols in the skins.
Grass growing also improves the structure of the soil (favouring the expansion of the roots), the life in the soil (a greater quantity of organic substances means more micro organisms, more earth-life means a better natural balance) and also the bio-diversity outside the soil (the presence of useful insects and mites).
Selection of the grapes
Finally the thinning of the grapes (some call it a “green harvest”), is decisive for the quality of the raw material/grapes: every year when the grapes change colour, some time between the end of July and the beginning of August, we walk along the rows of vines, patiently observing each plant and we select the bunches which will stay on the plant to ripen perfectly, freed of those in excess. This is a choice which forgoes quantity in favour of the quality of the grapes which remain on the vine, which in certain very fertile years becomes decisive, to say the least.
WHOLESOMENESS OF THE GRAPES
The second requisite, that of wholesomeness, is closely linked to the first, that of quality.
If the grapes remain sound around the time of the harvest, even in difficult years, the vine grower does not have to resort to early harvests and can wait for the moment of perfect ripeness.
Generally vineyards based on the choice of low productivity per plant produce grapes with tougher skins which are disease-resistant, grapes which will on average be more wholesome in the most problematic period which is that of the last weeks of ripening.
But when we talk about wholesomeness we are not only alluding to the integrity of the grape at the time of wine-making. We are also referring to its being the result of the agronomic management of the land and of the nutriments and protection from disease applied to the vineyards.
The health of the grapes thus becomes the most important guarantee that we as vine growers can give to those who consume the product of the fermentation of those grapes.
We have never used chemical herbicides
That yellow band of chemically-burnt grass sometimes visible under the vines has always made me think: never in our vineyards. The grass under the vines is simply cut, when necessary.
We only use fertilisers of animal and vegetable origin, to a degree which is sufficient to keep the fertility of our land unchanged over the years; live soil is in fact the best place for the roots of our plants to grow.
Plants are protected from cryptogamic diseases using natural products, mainly Copper and Sulphur, which have protected European vineyards from Downy Mildew and Powdery Mildew for over a century. We do not use products of chemical synthesis which work by penetrating the plants; Copper and Sulphur are “cover” products, they act by depositing themselves on the leaves and on the grapes and their protection is valid for a few days until washed away by the rain.
We also protect the plants from harmful insects using plant extracts, such as Pyrethrum, which is only used after specific field tests to verify their effective necessity.
Years of experience, including years with climactic conditions most favourable for the development of diseases, have shown us that it is therefore possible to produce wholesome grapes of the highest quality without using any substances of chemical synthesis.
We affirm this with conviction for the area we work in, the Valtènesi, on the morenic hills of Lake Garda. Talking with vine growers of other areas of production, we are ever more convinced that the climatic conditions on our hills are particularly favourable to vine growing with an excellent compromise between rain and sun and consequently scarce aggressiveness of diseases.
A bit of luck doesn’t do any harm.
IDENTITY AS A VALUE
The third requisite, that of identity, is the most difficult to define and does not only refer to the raw materials but also to the final product and to the overall perception that our clients have of Le Chiusure. From here to the end we will discuss the theme of our identity.
Many aspects contribute to the definition of the identity of our wines.
First of all the geographical situation and the fact of being part of an area of production- the Valtènesi, the area of morenic hills between Desenzano and Salò- with a very long history of vine-growing which in the last few years has been trying to re-establish itself, identifying and promoting the common characteristics which can be identified in its wines.
As far as the vines are concerned, the identity of our wines is based principally on two kinds of grape: Groppello, a native grape grown exclusively on our hills, and Rebo, a vine originally from Trentino but which has probably found her its chosen environment, in fact it has spread widely in recent years. We were the very first to believe in this grape and we can now boast fifteen years of experience of making wine from this grape.
THE WORK IN THE CELLAR
The work in the cellar also contributes significantly to the identity.
For example, in our experience, a cuvée of different grapes has always supplied, except for rare exceptions, a better result than single grape wines. This is the simple reason why our wines come from assemblies, which are made gradually at the different stages of refining. And that is true even if the various grapes are harvested separately, as they reach perfect ripeness at different times.
Good wine can only be made with good grapes.
The main objective therefore of work in the cellar is to respect and maintain the wholeness of the characteristics of the fresh grapes. The more of the grapes’ substances pass into the wine, the richer, more complex and wholesome the wine.
All the work done in the field to obtain a healthy and wholesome product favours the possibility of drastically reducing the use of sulphites during pressing and in the various stages of preservation of the wine until it is bottled. We think that we will soon be able to quantify this reduction.
Moreover, we prefer the wine to ferment through the action of the yeasts of the grapes without adding industrial yeast, except for particular rare cases of wines with a high level of alcohol to help complete fermentation.
GROPPELLO AND CHIARETTO, CAMPEI AND MALBORGHETTO
After twenty years of work our relationship with our four wines is not much different from that which one has with one’s friends, with travelling companions. Over the years I have got to know them, I have also made decisions which have slightly modified them over time with the aim of enhancing the outline of their identity.
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Groppello is our root in the past, our link with these hills which overlook the lake from the west: the proof that we belong to the place, the starting point for everything we can say about the wine. If Groppello is authentic, from its colour, a red “that you can see through”, to the immediacy of its direct flavour, all our work has been worthwhile. |
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Chiaretto is also made from Groppello and from a century of tradition. At the same time it is the wine which bring us in a European flavour search, in the world of the “pale rosé” of the South of France and, hopefully people will soon say, of Lake Garda: rosé wines which get pinker and paler, with a fragrance of flowers and fruit, elegant and delicate to the taste and finally capable of acquiring their own space among the images of those who love wine. |
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To understand Campei look at the label with its graphic design which is an enlargement of the stones of the wall surrounding our vineyard.
The stones are the nobility of the vineyards, the mineral origin from which the land derives and therefore the character of the wines which come from it. In my imagination Campei has its roots among the stones of the earth of our hills and draws its fragrant taste and a robust body which is capable of ageing but remains gentle at the same time. |
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Finally Malborghetto, a wine intended to last and improve in the years, the high alcohol level and the concentration of the juice have already enabled us to taste ten different vintages toghether. The presence of grapes like Rebo and Merlot give this wine its own character and the mark of the terroir lies just behind the strong presence of the vines. This is the least typical of our wines, it is our interpretation as lovers of classic great red wines. |
LABELS, IDENTITY IN THE SIGNS OF THE PAST
The graphic research which has led to our present labels found its reference in the signs of the past, in the history of the names and the places.
This is also a distinctive sign of our identity, starting with our name Le Chiusure, the place name of the property.
Campei is also the place name of the countryside of Portese where our vineyards are to be found, the name used by the old country folk; and Mal borghetto, which is the name of the part of the village where our house is, perhaps alludes to some misdeed in the distant past.
The antique writing on the labels of the Groppello and of the Chiaretto and the land map which shows our house backing on to the ruins of the castle of Portese on the label of Malborghetto, derive from Napoleon’s passage through this region two hundred years ago.
VINEGROWERS, PROTECTORS OF THE TERRITORY
When we started working here, we instinctively chose what seemed to us to be the two most significant elements of the Lake Garda landscape to design our logo: the olive trees and the dry stone walls. In both we felt the strong presence of nature and of man, the makers of the beauty which surrounded us, of that landscape which has often helped transform a day’s work in the fields into a pleasure for the eyes and for the spirit.
After twenty years we understand the reasons for that instinctive choice better.
The landscape of Lake Garda, the nature, our territory are suffering the attack of aggressive construction without precedent and risk being wiped out.
The profession of the farmer is gradually transforming into a combination of production, protection of nature and management of the land. And, while we recognise the quality of the product as the prime objective of our work, the responsibility we wish to assume in these years is to make our voice heard in defence of the landscape and of nature, not only for aesthetic and cultural reasons but as a vital necessity for us and our descendants.
From this point of view, producing qualitative excellence today means producing agricultural income which in turn produces protection of the land.
SUSTAINABLE FARM MANAGEMENT
Responsibility towards our area is part of a wider responsibility which we feel towards the planet in these years of global warming and environmental emergency.
The ways of working which we adopt guarantee continuity over time to the productive process on our lands; keeping the earth fertile, search for minimal impact on the natural balance and respect for the surrounding environment are part of a sustainable approach to the practice of vine growing.
An approach which is based on sound principles which can be scientifically demonstrated.
For example, in the near future we may participate in a project to quantify the carbon footprint produced by our farm with the aim of gaining greater awareness so that we can try to reduce it.
The development of eco-compatible practices in the vineyard and in the cellar are therefore motivated by this, but also aim at saving the land and the plants without whose wholesomeness one cannot speak about wine and its terroir.
And so we come full circle, we are back where we started, with the desire to make our wines known and to guarantee those who appreciate and those who meet them the first time, the “terroir Le Chiusure” and some aspects of its identity.
We believe that the value of the product lies not only in the product itself but also in the values of the identity which it represents, we trust that these words can serve to enrich the good taste of our wines.
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