2020 La Stoppa “Ageno” Bianco
A benchmark in the world of extended-skin-contact wines, “Ageno” is a blend of Malvasia, Trebbiano, and Ortrugo fermented with native
Producer
La Stoppa
I have reviewed three wines from La Stoppa, from the 2016 to 2022 vintages, all from Emilia. Most are Barbera. Scores range from 91 to 95, averaging 94; the highest is the 2020 La Stoppa “Ageno” Bianco (95 points).
La Stoppa occupies a nineteenth-century estate in the Val Trebbiola, in the Colli Piacentini hills of Emilia. Under Elena Pantaleoni, with Giulio Armani in the cellar, it abandoned international varieties in favour of the region’s own and became one of the reference points of Italian natural wine. Everything is fermented with native yeasts, made without additives and bottled unfiltered.
Ageno is among the wines that made extended skin contact legible to a wider audience: Malvasia di Candia Aromatica with Ortrugo and Trebbiano, macerated on the skins for weeks, deep golden, with dried citrus, tea leaf, honey and resin on a firm, tannic frame. Decades on, it remains one of the pinnacles of Italian orange wine.
The reds come from Barbera and Bonarda. Macchiona, from 70-year-old vines, is fermented in tank and aged in large Slavonian oak: wild, iron-tinged and age-worthy, with black fruit, dried flowers and balsamic herbs. Trebbiolo is the vibrant, rustic everyday red, fermented naturally with no added sulfites, full of cherry, blackberry, earthy spice and wild herbs.
2022 La Stoppa “Trebbiolo” Rosso
A vibrant and rustic red from Barbera and Bonarda, Trebbiolo is fermented naturally and bottled unfiltered. Juicy cherry and blackberry
2016 La Stoppa “Macchiona” Rosso
A deep and age-worthy blend of Barbera and Bonarda from 70-year-old vines, “Macchiona” is fermented in tank and aged in