La Stoppa is an organic estate in Località Ancarano in Rivergaro near the city of Piacenza in Piacenza province, Italy. Wines are made under the Colli Piacentini DOC. See Natural Resistance.

Owner: Elena Pantaleoni (born in Piacenza). She inherited the estate from her father who bought the vineyard in 1973, but first planted in the late 1800s. Elena studied languages and worked abroad. She then joined her mother at the vineyard in 1991, helping her with the commercial and administrative side of the business. In 1997, when her mother emigrated to Chile to set up her own vineyard, Elena became sole proprietor of the family vineyard. Giulio Armani has been her right arm in this venture, making the wines, as well as working on his project “Denavolo”.

Elena Pantaleoni interview by ‘phone, Wednesday 07th Oct 2015, with me asking the questions: Elena said she has a sister called Paola and a brother, Giuseppe, who has two children: Raffaele works at La Stoppa, whilst Anna is still at university. Then she said ‘I am the guardian of this place, looking after it is my goal. I am not a hero for the natural wine movement. I don’t fell like one. I am not timid, I am curious, I know a lot of producers because I like going to see and meet them. Maybe that is why people know me. I was good at school, did not need to study, languages came easily to me for example. But I was not very good (in the sense studying) at university. I did not finish my degree. I started running my own bookshop aged 22, but after my father died [young], I went to manage La Stoppa. I was 26. My father was a printer. I had a very good rapport with him. He taught me how to live, in the sense that life was not only not work, work, work. He taught me human values. My father was very self-disciplined but he was not authoriatarin. He had the knack of being able to deal with any type of person–workers, colleagues, high-end business people. He was ambitious but in the best sense. He had high targets. He had no fear. He taught me to respect work, and to repsect the person in front of you, people whoever that person was.’

I asked Elena if she felt she was putting right the errors of the past–by taking out the early ripening grapes.“No. La Stoppa existed before my father. The previous owner was someone who liked to experiment [by planting French grapes], and Pinot Noir became very important commercially for La Stoppa. It was a different market then of course, so no it was not an error. Just a phase. I see my work now as giving an identity to my estate. I say the further you have to travel to reach your market, the more you need your wine to have its own identity. French imports like Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon were no longer a good fit for us, especially with climate change. We can see the wines did not age well in bottle. I am not saying copies of the [French] original cannot be good, of course they can–but they are not the identity we should have here. I am not a fundamentalist. I get more pleasure saying ‘yes’ to an idea, rather than ‘no’. But it is better to work with what is unique, traditional and local to our territory. This works best for us both as wine-growers and as wine sellers. And growing and making wine in as natural a way as possible, with [certified] organic grape-growing, natural [unyeasted] fermentations and minimal oak is a consequence of making wine with a sense of place. Wine needs to have a link with the locale. The best wines, which carry a sense of emotion or soul if you like, they preserve and carry tradition in the best sense of the word,” Elena Pantaleoni told me by ‘phone (Wed 07th Oct 2015).

Asked if she exhibits the missionary zeal of other natural winemakers, she told me “If I have to an argument with someone, I will. It’s not like I live in my comfort zone. But we have so much that is positive to say about how we work, and it is better to talk about that than lose energy criticising others. I live in the country, next to my vines, so I chose not to put toxic materials on my land. My vineyard is like a garden. It’s about accepting responsibility for the place in which you live. You should respect the place where you spend your life, but this does not make you a fundamentalist,” Elena Pantaleoni told me by ‘phone (Wed 07th Oct 2015).

Vineyards: Barbera, Bonarda and Malvasia di Candia Aromatica.

White wines

Ageno: Ageno refers to the previous owner of La Stoppa. 60% Malvasia di Candia Aromatica, 40% Ortugo and Trebbiano. Destemmed. Natural fermentation. Maceration on skins for a month. Racked. 6 months in tank, then 6 months in non-new French oak barrels – whilst the wine is normally released after four years.

Red wines

Colli Piacentini Rosso DOC, Cabernet Sauvignon, Stoppa: 1973 Debut. Made from old vine Cabernet Sauvignon plus Merlot and other Bordelais grapes. It put La Stoppa on the map. 1996 Produced. | 1999 Produced. | 2000 Produced.

Macchiona: Flagship wine. Blend of old vine Barbera and Bonarda. 12 months in Slavonian botti. Around 25,000 bottles. ‘The Macchiona is truly profound, but not spoofy – just slow and deep,’ (Doug Wregg, Oct 2015 by email). | 1999 12 months in 12hl barrels. | 2004 IGT Emilia Rosso 50% each Barbera & Bonarda. Ripet fruit, menthol and acetaldehyde (Natural Wine Fair, 2011). | 2005 IGT Emilia Rosso 50% each Barbera and Bonarda. Both vinified separately. No yeast. 30-40 days on skins. Aged in Slavonian botti separately. No sulfur. 2005 was a balanced year. Lots of fruit but not in a soft way, mouthwatering fruit, very elegant with some press/acetaldehyde at the back which gives the ripe fruit a really savoury edge (Visit 21 October 2011). Bottled opened yesterday. | 2006 IGT Emilia Rosso. Three Glasses from the Gambero Rosso. Again a nice balanced year, not too hot, not too wet, no hail. Lovely menthol nose but still a bit closed aromatically, with pronounced quite dry tannin so still very young (Visit 21 October 2011). | 2007 IGT Emilia Rosso. 50% each Barbera & Bondarda
From 10, 30, 60-year old vines with 30- day maceration, indigenous yeasts, a year in large barrels and at least two years in the bottle. Unfiltered. 15%. Very hot year, so a bit atypical. Very menthol and ripe berries but lovely firm acidity behind mouthwatering but still very young and concentrated fruit (Visit 21 October 2011).

Sweet wines

Colli Piacentini DOC Malvasia Passito Vigna del Volta: Named after a vineyard once sharecropped by a Sr Volta. The grapes are picked – first the moscato at the end of August, then the Malvasia di Candia Aromatica in early September – and then dry on flat ground covered by plastic sheets (the flat ground means the drying is more homogenous) for around 10-15 days. Pressed in a small wooden basket press. Ferments in barrel for one year. Filtered and sulfured. Around 10,000 bottles x 50cl. | 1995 Debut. | 2000 10 months in oak barrels. | 2007 50cl. 95% Malvasia di Candia Aromatica + 5% Moscato. Bright copper colour. Lovely bramble sweetness, refreshing (Natural Wine Fair, 2011). Delicious, same notes (Visit 21 October 2011).

Contact

La Stoppa

Loc. Ancarano

I-29029 Rivergaro (PC), Italy

Tel+39 0523.958159 | Website www.lastoppa.it

Sales: Les Caves de Pyrène (UK)