La Stoppa Ageno Bianco 2020

Grapes	90% Malvasia di Candia, 10% Ortrugo & Trebbiano Toscano
Producer	La Stoppa (Elena Pantaleoni)
Region	Piacenza Hills, Emilia-Romagna, Italy
Vintage	2020
Maceration	4+ months skin contact
Aging	2 years Slavonian oak botti
Additions	None — no filtration, no sulfur

90% Malvasia di Candia, 10% Ortrugo & Trebbiano Toscano. The varieties are co-planted and the vines average 30 years of age. The fruit is harvested by hand, destemmed and fermented with native yeasts and no sulfur in tank. Maceration with the skins lasts at least 4 months. Malolactic fermentation normally occurs. In the spring, the wine is racked into 40-hectoliter Slavonian oak botti and aged for at least 2 years. The wine is bottled without filtration or sulfur and aged further. Ageno vintages are released when deemed fully ready, not in chronological sequence.

The name "Ageno" honours the original owner of La Stoppa, Giancarlo Ageno, from whom proprietor Elena Pantaleoni's father bought the property.

About La Stoppa

La Stoppa, in the hills above Piacenza, is one of the most important natural wine estates in Italy. Run by Elena Pantaleoni, the estate makes wines from indigenous varieties — Malvasia di Candia, Ortrugo, Barbera, Bonarda — that have influenced natural wine producers globally. The Ageno is their benchmark orange wine: structured, age-worthy, and completely uncompromising.

Tasting Notes

Deep amber. Complex nose of dried apricot, orange peel, walnut, honey, dried herbs, and the specific oxidative depth that 2+ years in large oak uniquely produces. On the palate: full-bodied, tannic, very high acidity, and extraordinary length. This is not an easy wine — it is a serious wine, and it rewards the attention it demands.

How to Serve

Serve at 15–16°C. Open at least one hour before serving, or decant briefly. Best drunk with substantial food. Cellar for another 5–10 years if you can wait.

Food Pairing

Aged hard cheese, prosciutto, roast pork belly, confit duck, spiced North African and Middle Eastern cuisines. A wine that makes almost any rich, savoury dish better.

Learn more: Italian natural wine — the complete guide by region · Orange wine food pairing guide