SALIS

Salis — from the Latin for salt — is Andi Sölva's Sauvignon Blanc, named for the unmistakable minerality of the prevailing soil structure that gives this wine its most distinguishing quality. The name is precise and scientific: the salt in the geological composition of the Lake Caldaro soils expresses itself in the wine as saline mineral quality that the estate identifies as the defining characteristic of their Sauvignon Blanc and that the Latin name honours directly.

Sauvignon Blanc is 100% of the blend — a single-variety statement of what this internationally celebrated aromatic white achieves in the specific conditions of the Lake Caldaro zone, where the mild continental Alpine climate, the bora-like mountain winds, and the specific soil saline mineral composition create conditions quite different from the Loire, Bordeaux, or New Zealand contexts in which the variety has achieved its greatest international recognition.

The production protocol is one of extended wood contact and steel blending: up to 70% of the wine is aged in 500-litre wooden barrels — larger than standard barriques, producing a gentler, less extractive wood influence — for almost a year, while the remainder ages in steel for a similar period. The two portions are then blended and the wine spends six months in bottle before release. The wood aging component develops the complexity and the textural richness that this production style is designed to achieve; the steel portion preserves the freshness and the aromatic vitality that Sauvignon Blanc's most celebrated quality is.

Complex on both nose and palate — the estate's own characterisation of this wine — captures the result of this extended and carefully managed production approach: a Sauvignon Blanc of unusual depth and sophistication.

Available through UniqueWines.