“A history 50 harvests-long”, the “strange”, unpredictable and irreplaceable wine by Fausto Maculan

A competence built over half a century of experience, combined with eloquence and charm, “certify” Fausto Maculan, born in 1950, as one of the leading figures in the renaissance of Italian winemaking in the 1980s. The visionary producer from Breganze (Vicenza) played a proactive role throughout the 1970s and 1980s together with a small group of enologists of the same generation, companions at the Conegliano School of Winemaking, who in turn shaped the quality of wine across the Peninsula. From the very beginning, Fausto Maculan viticultural and winemaking journey was supported by study and observation, in a constant enrichment inspired by the best experiences in Italy and abroad, particularly in France, interpreting them and adapting them to the reality of Breganze. Some milestones: in 1985, among the first in Italy, and considered mad for it, he planted high-density Chardonnay in the Ferrata vineyard, with 10,000 vines per hectare. After deepening his study of Émile Peynaud - the renowned French enologist who modernized Bordeaux and improved wine quality worldwide - whom he met by chance at the first edition of Vinexpo in Bordeaux in 1981, he designed truncated-cone steel vats to optimize cap management in red-grape fermentation, enhancing aroma and color extraction while minimizing tannins from grape seeds. His many study trips, where initiative and serendipity intertwined, leading him to meet otherwise unreachable international gurus with whom he built lasting relationships, form the substance of his stories, revealing a snapshot of that period of “reconstruction” of Italian viticulture and winemaking in the aftermath of the methanol crisis.
His commitment to studying the factors that, when harmoniously assembled, determine wine quality, together with an intense commercial activity supported by effective storytelling with customers and in top restaurants in Italy and around the world, helped make the Breganze DOC known both inside and outside Europe thanks to the winery iconic wines - Torcolato, a sweet wine with ancient roots made from the native Vespaiola grape, and Fratta, a Cabernet-Merlot blend. Creativity, paired with a lucid mind and vision, is another hallmark of Fausto Maculan personality, who continues to be a point of reference in the company, now long entrusted to his two daughters, Angela, responsible for exports, and Maria Vittoria, in charge of viticulture and winemaking.
To celebrate his first 50 harvests, Fausto Maculan decided to “create” a wine which would recall and (actually) assemble all of them, using a truly unique method. The occasion was the “feston” (a big party, ed) organized for his birthday, delayed by six months, on 2023, June 13th, with 150 guests including relatives, employees - including retirees - friends, and colleagues. Each was given two bottles of various labels from current vintages and from the historical reserve covering the five decades. After tasting, almost as part of a propitiatory ritual, each guest poured their two bottles into a single barrique. Fratta, Palazzotto, and other Bordeaux-style wines, even those no longer in production, were left to rest for 18 months in the barrique and were then bottled again, giving life to “Una storia lunga 50 vendemmie” - “A story 50 harvests-long”, a unique and unrepeatable wine dedicated to his half-century career. The presentation, held recently at the winery in Breganze, offered an opportunity to recount the history of the company through a tasting spanning six decades, each represented by wines and vintages which helped build the wine “alphabet” and reputation of Maculan in Italy and worldwide.
“It is a wine arisen as a divertissement with symbolic value, meant to involve the guests  - explained Fausto Maculan -  each of them contributed to building fifty years of our story, just as they contributed to creating the label that celebrates them. The final result was impossible to predict, as the element of chance was extremely substantial. But daring is necessary to achieve goals that exceed expectations. It is one of the most important lessons I have learned in my career and that, with this wine, I wish to give back”. A wine perfectly aligned with the creativity of Fausto Maculan, in which time, vineyards, and wine styles were assembled through a sort of collective happening, resulting in 300 bottles with labels handwritten and numbered by the producer himself, distributed exclusively by allocation.