sparkles & stardust...

[Botafogo]

We experience about a 3-5% "failure rate" amongst seriously extracted, unfiltered, naturally fermented wines (which WE consider to be top wines), running the gamut from expensive Aussie old vine Grenache through Puglian monster Zins to the odd Rhone gem. This is just part of the game and is NOT an indication of "poor winemaking" or lack of quality control, it is (as Emedio Pepe says) "letting God speak" and not intervening too much in the vinification.

Roberto

PS, at VinItaly they open and taste EVERY bottle before they pour for you (at quality producers anyway) and between corked bottles and "restarts" they probably reject every 20th bottle as not being what they want to show you. These ARE agricultural products, something many tend to forget......