Petrera Pasquale Fatalone is an organic winery in the Gioia del Colle DOC region of Puglia. The estate was created at the end of the 18th century when Nicola Petrera (b.1825) planted Primitivo grapes on the Spinomarino hill in the Gaudella area of Gioia del Colle. It was he who had rescued the original Primitivo cuttings selected by Don Filippo Indelicata (b.17??). Fatalone is the name of the farmhouse (‘masseria’) in which the wines are made.
‘The motto of Fatalone’s founder, ‘Nicola Petrera was ‘who loves nature loves God and himself.’ Nicola Petrera’s son was called Filippo (1854-1951). It was he who was given the name ‘Fatalone’ (heartbreaker, playboy).
Filippo Petrera’s son was Pasquale (b.1913). Pasquale’s son Filippo (b.1947) worked in Torino as a mechanic (making filters for a company selling them to Fiat) before working in other jobs. He created what is the current estate in 1987 and did his first bottling. Filippo married Rosa Orfino and their son, Pasquale, is the current emcumbent running the estate (5th-generation).
“Fatalone, or rather Azienda Petrera Pasquale () has been producing wine since the 19th century,” (Speller, Walter: 25 Oct 2013).
Vineyards: 2013 In 2013 there were 8ha of Primitivo and 0.5ha de Greco (source: phone call to Pasquale Petrera on 11 March 2013). 2014 The same numbers were given to me in Oct 2014.
Terroir: The vines lie on a rocky hilltop at 385 metres above sea level to the south of Gioia del Colle itself, in a locality called Spinomarino which is 4.5 km south-east of the town of Colli della Murgia. 365 metres.
Viticulture: Dry farmed. Pasquale Petrera told me at the winery on 08 Oct 2014 “I do not want over-ripeness. To avoid this we retrained the vines from low alberello bush vines to a modern espalier (wire-trained) version of Puglian bush vines (Alberello Pugliese). This allows the vines to be higher off the ground and thus further away from the reflected heat of the stones in the soils. We also opened the vertically shoot positioned canopy up a little more to encourage air flow.” Vine density is 4,000 vines/ha (2.2 metre rows/1 metres between vines). Row orientation north-south.
Organic certification: 2000 First vintage with full organic certification (ICEA). / 2014 Still certified organic.
Biodynamics: 2014 No Biodynamic preparations or practices were being used, Pasquale Petrera told me during a visit to his winery on 08 Oct 2014 at 4pm, apart from the fact that some tasks were undertaken during the waning moon.
Sustainability: Solar panels provide enough energy to make the estate self-sufficient in electricity.
Winemaking, Winery: Pasquale Petrera told me at the winery on 08 Oct 2014 “I do not want over-ripeness. We changed to low alberello and opened and raised it to provide shade and away from the reflected heat of the stones. We ferment at 24-26ºC for around 14 days in stainless steel. We want fruit and acidity. We do not want extracted tannins.” Musts with high potential alcohol are more likely to extract green tannins from the pips, alcohol being a solvent. MLF follows as soon as the alcoholic fermentation ends. Wines aged in large Slavonian oak butts for at least a year. Salty wines due to the local soils.
White wines
Puglia Bianco, Fatalone Spinomarino: 100% Greco Bianco. 0.5ha. Planted 1990. 3,000 vines/ha (2.2 metre rows/2 metres between vines). North-south. Pergola. Dry farmed. Unoaked. | 2013 Greco Bianco. Clean, fluffy and fresh (Millésime Bio in Jan 2014).
Pink wines
Puglia Rosato, Fatalone Teres: 100% Primitivo. Dry farmed. Unoaked. | 2014 Rosato. 100% Primitivo. Stainless steel only. 13%. Pale cherry colour from being left on skins for upto 36 hours. Darkish colour, bit of residual spritz on the tongue, a bit estery, nice crowdpleaser tasted blind at the Radici del Sud competition, 13th June Saturday 2015.
Red wines
Gioia del Colle Rosso DOC, Fatalone Primitivo: 2009 100% Primitivo. Planted 1990. 4,000 vines/ha (2.2 metre rows/1 metres between vines). North-south. Fermented in stainless steel, and spends time in Slavonian oak botti and stainless steel. Lacks a little freshness at Millésime Bio Jan 2014.
Gioia del Colle Rosso DOC Riserva, Fatalone Primitivo: Pasquale told me at the winery on 08 Oct 2014 at 4pm that in his view the best years are 1997, 2000, 2007 and 2012. / 2005 Riserva 18,000 bottles. Odd year. High acidity and deep colour. Very hot summer. Then cold and humid at the end of August during harvest. Ripening was not homogeneous on each bunch. Some grapes very ripe. Picked from 4th Sept which was one week earlier than the usual period from 12-30 September. Rained. Lucky they picked early. High acid level of 7.5g/l acidity which meant the wine had to have longer aging in botti (3 years in botti) and bottle (3.5 years in bottle) before release. He likes its firmness and concentration but without it being heavy. Wild tooat the winery on 08 Oct 2014 at 4pm. | 2006 15%. Very dry and hot in the run up to harvest. 24 months in botti. 12,000 bottles. Ruby garnet colour. Odd nose. Bit of sherry and Port. Very sweet fruit. Raisined grapes. Nice weight though. Sweet savoury. Savoury sweet. If you can get past the raisins this is very individual. Nice in the mouth at the winery on 08 Oct 2014 at 4pm. | 2007 Riserva. Spring was nicely wet. Summer little rain but when needed it rained. Dry summer but not too hot. Dry harvesting period. 50 q/ha which was good. 18,000 bottles. Got a bronze at DWWA. Low sulfites. 60ppm total (100ppm is allowed). No albumin, no lactic bacteria, no casein = vegan suitable. “Physical transformation.” 24 m in botti. “Memorable year. Good pH. 15%. Good polyphenols. Not too passito” but seems a bit to me. Sweet fruit, bit raisiny, decent weight, nice Zin style though, satisfying and ripe, brightness at the winery on 08 Oct 2014 at 4pm.
Winery: Underground cellar from 2004. Breathable walls. The cellar supports allow music to be played to the wine: “a membrane for the molecules,” Pasquale told me at the winery in Oct 2014. UV light. Leaves bottles standing up to stop alcohol destroying the cork.
Contact
Az Ag Petrera Pasquale Fatalone
Vic. Le Spinomarino, 291
70023 Gioia del Colle (BA), Italy
Tel+39 080.3448037 | Website:www.fatalone.it