Fattoria Mani di Luna was born in 2012, the joint effort of three long-time friends: Simone, Rocco and Alessandro (Alessandro and Rocco played in a band together for years, and Rocco and Simone were college classmates, both studying agronomy.) Their shared love of nature and agriculture, coupled with a passion for regenerative farming practices, led the trio to take the reins of a 35 hectare property on the outskirts of Torgiano, just a short drive southeast of Perugia and deep in the heart of Umbrian wine country. Owned and farmed for decades by the Lungarotti family, one of Umbria’s early pioneers of chemical-free farming, the 7.5 hectares of vines that the young men oversee, mostly planted to limestone-rich sandy loams, are now certified organic and managed under many of the principles of biodynamic farming. Operationally speaking, everything here is very much ‘hands on;’ grapes are destemmed by hand, clusters are foot-trodden, and all the wines see significant lees contact along with regular bâtonnage, all to allow for greater natural stability within the wine’s far less need of any manipulations or additions.
The fellas’ 2021 ‘Ametistas’ glows like the shiny geode that is its namesake (though more of the deeply hued amber-ish, than amethyst purple of course!) Derived entirely of Grechetto planted across two vineyards, the fruit is harvested over the course of two separate picks: one in September, for freshness, finesse and acidity, the second pass completed in early October when the grapes have developed more ripeness and phenolic maturity. While the initial pick is subject to a simple direct pressing, the later harvest sees around 4 days of skin maceration, imbuing a deeply golden shade to the Amestistas final form. Fermented and aged in cement tanks, the resulting wine is awash with nutty, oily viscosity on the palate, elements of baked yellow stone fruits, pressed white flowers, sun-drenched hay bales, and Marcona almond rolling from the glass. A bottle that very much warrants time and temperature here, so a good 30 minutes of decanting to ensure best results for this structured, savory, and fleshy white.