A magnificent six ride again
Italy was known as Enotria Tellus, the land of vines. Metternich said that Italy was “a geographical expression.”
From the Alpine valleys of Valle d’Aosta to its baking southern Mediterranean coast, Italy is many countries in one with a fascinating diversity of cultures, climates and wine styles. Italian wines can match any in the world for regional heritage and expression of terroir. Our list contains many examples of relatively rare traditional local varieties as well as more classic ones. Here is a selection of the former.
Cesanese
Ciolli good
Damiano Ciolli cultivates the lesser-seen native Cesanese d’Affile grapes in the hills of Olevano Romano, south east of Rome. The vineyards are on deep red soils of volcanic origin at 450 m altitude and are refreshing by a daily breeze off the Tyrrhenian Sea. Farming organically, he and his partner, focus on low yields and rigorous selection to bring out the variety’s attributes. The Cesanese Selene (a blend of four vineyard blocks) has a forward nose revealing pleasant fruity aromas of cranberries and pomegranate, dried roses and herbs. The palate is crisp and lean with notes of wild herbs and aromatic spices (think juniper), nicely balanced with good tannins that blend perfectly with a mineral hint.
Aleatico
Andrea Occhipinti is on a mission to show that Aleatico can perform every which way. His straight-pressed Bianco version is truly an “Alter Alea”, whilst the Alea Viva is a more familiar dark red wine with Aleatico aromatics of cherry liqueur, wild roses and violets and red Muscat grapes. His Arcaico Rosso pairs Grechetto (Rosso) with Aleatico to elegant effect. This latter is another wine that is graced by terracotta.
Theories abound as to the origins of Aleatico, the main being that it is related to the Muscat Blanc a Petits Grains and that it may have been brought to Italy by the ancient Greeks. During his exile on Elba, the Aleatico wines of the island supposedly became a favourite drink of Napoleon. He was reported to have said that they were his only consolation during this time.
Ciliegiolo
The first documented references to Ciliegiolo are from the early 17th century when the Florentine writer Soderini described a “Ciregiuolo dolce” with a long bunch, a somewhat large berry, and a sweet – “dolce” – and fragrant flavour. This description of the physical characteristics of the variety corresponds to present-day Ciliegiolo, as does the observation that the grape does best in notably warm climates. There exists, nonetheless, in popular and folk descriptions of Ciliegiolo, another tradition which attributes the origins of the grape to Spain and ascribes its presence in Italy to pilgrims who returned with it to Italy from the sanctuary of Saint James in Compostela. Hence the other name once widely used for the grape in Italy: “Ciliegiona rossa tonda di Spagna”, or the “red and round Ciliegiona of Spain”. Nowadays, Ciliegiolo is cultivated almost exclusively in Umbria and Tuscany.
The name of the grape comes from an Italian word for cherry which Ciliegiolo wines resemble in colour and perfume. The Sassolini Rosso hails from Tarano in Lazio on the Umbrian border. Despite the fact that the vineyard is young, the grapes produce a wine of remarkable intensity and vibrancy.
The grape features in Andrea Occhipinti’s Alkes Rosato, where it is macerated for just a few hours and fermented naturally in tank. Vibrant fruity nose and on the palate, notes of mediterranean herbs. Refreshing rosé with good acidity, the San Ferdinando Ciliegiolo Rosso from Val di Chiana in Tuscany where the wine has aromas of sour cherries, raspberries, woody green herbs, and a hint of lavender as well as featuring heavily in Antonio Camillo’s Mediterraneo Rosso blend.
Grignolino
Grignolino has been planted in Piedmont in the area between Asti and Casale, where it originated, since the eighth century. Still confined almost entirely to hillside vineyards in the provinces of Asti and Alessandria, it has only two appellations: Grignolino d’Asti and Grignolino del Monferrato Casalese. The name of the vine is likely derived from a word in local dialect, “grignòle,” which refers to the high number of seeds in the berry. The Brich Grignolino from Agricola Gaia is light, fresh, fruity, refreshing but insubstantial (that’s the way we like it) and decidedly to be drunk soon after the vintage. It offers bright red fruit with notes of herbs and flowers, with a hint of bitterness on the finish. This would be lovely lightly chilled with the festive bagna cauda and even better consumed by the gallon with a bollito misto. There is no World Grignolino Conference – yet. Unripe Grignolino is said to be green—yolino.
For those of you who enjoy your Piedmontese grapes with an extra rasp, then Freisa and Slarina are also worth investigating.
Gaglioppo
As with so many Italian grapes, ampelographers have various theories as to the origins of Gaglioppo. One is that it is one of the many descendants of Sangiovese, another that it was brought over from Greece. Whichever is the case, it has adapted to the hot and dry climate of Calabria and can produce highly distinctive wines.
For the past ten years Cataldo Calabretta, one of the pioneers of the noble Calabrian Gaglioppo variety, has worked according to principles of organic farming, an ethical choice. He cultivates vines on hilly land located in the heart of the DOC, uses only indigenous yeasts and doesn’t add anything to the wines other than a minimal amount of sulphites. In the cellar, they renewed an old cement cuve, which proves to be an excellent vessel for the ageing of Cirò wine.
Gaglioppo is a very tannic and acidic variety that during the 80s and 90s was perhaps somewhat stripped of its original elements and made in the roundest and softest incarnation possible, losing the otherwise sharp and angular characteristics of the grape. Treated properly, it is a serious wine that can hold its head high against Nebbiolo, Sangiovese, and Nerello. Cataldo’s Cirò Rosso Classico Superiore, reveals a bright brick red colour (even in youth) which is the hallmark of this variety. Ethereal on the nose, the fruit is initially shy, but coaxed out of its shell, reveals a range of flavour including leather, liquorice and dried prunes. There is plenty of tannin, but its natural high acidity is an elegant Gaglioppo further enhanced by the salinity which characterises wines from the Ionian coast.
Sagrantino
Here for the Bea
Sagrantino centres on the village of Montefalco in Umbria. The first written record of it dates from the 16th century as a communion wine, although Pliny the Elder talked about red wines from Montefalco (which may have been our grape in question). The grape was originally used to make passito-style wines until the 1970s and the vogue for powerful dry reds began to emerge.
A characteristic of the variety is its intensely dark colour and thick skins and big pips, all of which contribute to it being one of the most tannic varieties in the world.
A truly artisan producer making organic hand-crafted wines. References in the archive of Montefalco, a beautiful Umbrian hill town (aren’t they all?), document the presence of the Bea family in this region as early as 1500. This tiny estate is the classic Italian fattoria, producing wine, raising farm animals for trade and home consumption and working the land to produce olives, fruits and vegetables. Paolo Bea, the senior member of the family, is the guiding force behind the production of these intensely pure wines, assisted by his son, Giuseppe, who farms the vineyards and Giampero who looks after the vinification. No herbicides or pesticides are used at Paolo Bea. He believes that wine is an expression of nature and looks forward to the differences in each harvest. The wines are produced in the traditional way; grapes are handpicked and bottled without filtration.
Sagrantino is the predominant grape, covering 60% of the vineyard area. The remaining 40% is planted to Sangiovese and Montepulciano, with a small parcel planted to several white grape varieties. All grapes are harvested manually, and the reds undergo an extensive cuvaison that lasts between five to eight weeks with punch downs during fermentation. Malolactic fermentation occurs spontaneously in stainless steel.
Bea’s Montefalco Sagrantino Pagliaro comes from a hilltop parcel of south-facing vines on clay-limestone and gravel soils and feels like it is sculpted out of earth and stone. After fermentation the wine spends around 24 months in stainless tanks and a further lengthy period on the lees in Slavonian oak botti before bottling (without fining or filtration) and, if sulphur is added, it is only a small amount and before bottling. This Sagrantino is epic with its full, powerful nose of raisined berries and smoke, and a palate that unfolds an array of blackberries, currants, cinnamon and clove, one that is mouth-filling, warm and dense.
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