2012 Aria di Caiarossa

The Sisters of the Monastero Suore Cistercensi live and work at their monastery in Vitorchiano, ninety minutes or so north of Rome in the Lazio district. Here at this quiet religious outpost eighty women of this religious order work vineyards and orchards and gardens organically. Under the guidance of Bea, they produce two wines as honest and sympathetic and gracious as they are.

The Coenobium: is the basic wine of the Monastery with an approximate annual production of 12000 bottles, about 80% of which is shipped through us to satisfy the US market. Its intrigue comes from the volcanic soils that underlay the vineyards and the longer than usual contact that the fermenting juice has with the skins … this being a vinification technique encouraged by Bea.

The exceptional Loreto “cru” of Barbaresco is the source for this most profound wine of the De Forville estate. As with the Barbaresco “Normale”, the juice is fermented in stainless steel and then racked into large oak “botti” for about two years of aging before being bottled. Vines are approximately 35 years of age (as of 2011). More full-bodied and dense than the “Normale”, the “Loreto” also has additional aging capacity.  – Neal Rosenthal, Importer

Deep red color and very intense bouquet with spicy, aromatic and jammy notes combining power and finesse, prelude to a palate that is rich, sensuous, highly structured and complex, lingering finish.

Blend: 70% Corvina Veronese, 25% Rondinella, and 5% Corvinone

The Sisters of the Cistercian order at Monastero Suore Cistercensi live and work at their monastery in Vitorchiano, ninety minutes or so north of Rome in the Lazio district. Here at this quiet religious outpost eighty women of this religious order work vineyards and orchards and gardens organically. Under the guidance of Bea, they produce two wines as honest and sympathetic and gracious as they are.

The vineyards are planted to a series of four essentially local white grape varieties: Malvasia, Verdicchio, Grechetto and Trebbiano.

The Ruscum: is a blend of four grapes (Trebbiano, Malvasia, Verdicchio and Grechetto) and, in this instance, the juice is left to ferment on the lees for a period of two weeks or more, extracting all of the flavors, colors and textures of its fruit. The result is a wine of often deep golden color and penetrating minerality with hints of herbs, particularly anise, and wild flowers. There are approximately 4000 bottles produced annually of this cuvée, the overwhelming majority of which comes to the USA.

Gravner’s Ribolla Gialla Amfora’s copper-orange color is completely unique in the wide world of contemporary wine. There’s a luminous brightness to the wine’s appearance that defies its many years of age. Matured in clay amphorae, this pure expression of Ribolla Gialla delivers a softer approach than Gravner’s Breg (a white blend) and amazingly intense aromas of resin, pine nut, caramel, graham cracker and candied fruit. Firm structure and determined flavors mark the long close. You can drink it now or hold 10 more years.

A wine produced exclusively from the Gaglioppo grape (on occasion perhaps 5% Greco Nero may find its way into the blend), the Dom Giuva again captures the power of this dark-skinned and lusty grape while maintaining a scintillating brightness that keeps the wine surprisingly fresh. A wine of great length and persistence whose mark of distinction and class is best expressed by the hint of bitter cherry in the finish. The tannins are forceful yet graceful with a grainy texture and lush ripeness.