Cirò Rosso Superiore Tenuta Del Conte 2018

Gaglioppo...no, we didn't know that grape variety either. Now its one we'll never forget. 

Tawny-brick red colour, powerful and persistent fragrance. Well-balanced, leathery palate with a back bone of black fruit and grippy, but supple tannins, making this a very versatile wine with meat dishes ranging from game birds to pork and lamb.

Country: Italy

Region:Cirò, Calabria

ABV: 13.5%

Grapes: Gaglioppo

Food match: rich roast pork dishes, pheasant or slow roast lamb.

The wine has a garnet colour that is the typical color of Gaglioppo. The nose shows dark fruit aromas, dried herbs and dried flowers, and intense earthy notes. The tertiary aromas of mushrooms and leather are also evident and well interwoven with the dark fruit notes. On the palate the dark fruit flavours follow through; blueberries, black cherries, and blackcurrants. Smooth and silky in texture. The wine is juicy, and it shows elegance and good integration of all the elements. This wine is the quintessential example of a true Gaglioppo grape!

The wines are made in Calabria in the toe of Italy’s boot, where native varieties reign supreme – Magliocco, Nerello, Mantonico, Greco and the region’s star grape, Gaglioppo.

The Cirò DOC is a picturesque corner of the Mediterranean, along the Ionian coast, in the eastern foothills of the Calabria region, a large peninsula that forms the toe to Italy’s boot. The Parrilla family, who own and run Tenuta del Conte, have been making wine here for four generations, the latest of which to take over the estate are Mariangela, Giuseppe, and Caterina.

In 2011 Mariangela Parrilla took over as winemaker. Mariangela takes a philosophical approach to winemaking, with the aim to let these traditional indigenous grape varieties speak for themselves and their terroir. Her wines are all organic, no herbicides or chemicals are used at any stage of the production process, she opts for spontaneous fermentations using indigenous yeasts, no filtration, and solely stainless-steel and bottle aging. Taking each wine vintage by vintage she lets them evolve and age “according to their own natural rhythm”, making each wine unique. This could be just one year in bottle before release or over 10 years. Not only does she capture the unique character of the grape variety but that of the vintage it's from too.

Together with a handful of other wineries in the area, Mariangela is part of “The Cirò Revolution”, a group formed to promote and protect their territory’s identity. They are dedicated to organic viticulture and minimal intervention winemaking, they make traditional wines, in homage to their ancestors, from native grape varieties.