Named after the wind which cools the valley that Marco calls home, this is a refreshingly original take on Merlot – and, yes, 'refreshing' and 'Merlot' are not mutually exclusive! Merlot has long been produced in Veneto, since the mid-1800s, and the grape's popularity in the region increased further after the phylloxera epidemic of the era destroyed native grapes. It is now inexorably linked to Veneto's heritage, but luckily – in our case here – defined by the unique volcanic terroir of the region’s Western hills, and of course Marco’s hands-off approach. Hailing from biodynamically-tended older vines, fruit sees spontaneous fermentation on skins for a couple of weeks in concrete before aging in old barrels for eight months. The wine is never fined, filtered, or touched by SO2. ‘L'Arietta’ treads the line between old school rusticity and lo-fi vibrancy – full of spiced black currant compote, red hibiscus essence, wild plums., earth, herbs, and brine. A wine to make the most of the season's larder, it screams for some wild mushrooms or a nice joint of meat.