Francesco makes his four iterations of Garganega by pick date. The first pick, which has the highest acid and lowest pH, goes into the Leviathano pet nat. The second goes into the Pantagruele, with ideal acid structure for extended lees aging. The third pick goes mostly into Gargantua, and a bit to Neanderthal. These are fully ripe bunches with deep, profound fruit character, but still with excellent acidity.
10% of the Gargantua harvest sees two days of skin contact, and this portion is added to the 90% direct press juice to start the fermentation. The golden color comes from a combo of the 2 days skin contact and also the richness and concentration of the fruit from these old vines. This is bottled one year after harvest, unfined and unfiltered, with minimal SO2.
