2018 Annesanti Rosso 'Salto del Cieco'

A blend of Barbera and Merlot, all farmed biodynamically. Fermented in “traditional” method: keeping the skin cap submerged, with daily pumping over. Wine is aged in stainless steel tanks, left to settle and clear naturally and bottled without filtration or stabilization during the waning phase of the moon, always on clear days. This is a minimally-manipulated, “natural” wine that offers a true glimpse into the grapes and their terroir, without influence of winemaking techniques or wood character.

Medium-bodied with soft, evident tannins and bright acidity. Loaded with dark, tart fruit, herbs, with subtle leather and floral notes. Flavors are bright, intense and pure. Savory and rustic. 

Not much info out there on this special man and his winery. What follows is a Google translation of content from his website…Though a bit rough, you can get a sense of the passion and poetic spirit of the man:

“My project has deep and distant roots. Deep as it is, deep the bond that my family has always had with the land. My name, Francesco, the name of both my grandparents, to whom I owe what I am. After obtaining a degree in Natural Sciences and various work experiences, in 2012 I undertook the renovation of the family stable to build a wine cellar. This winery has a very long memory, I look at it and I can still smell the heat and the cows and calves that have warmed it for more than half a century, and now, after several generations, it is getting used to the scents and warmth of wine.

The family-run company consists of about twenty hectares of land in the municipality of Arrone, a few kilometers from the Marmore Falls, in the heart of the Valnerina. Like almost all the peasant properties of the past, which aimed at self-reliance, it incorporates land cultivated with olive trees, arable land for the production of cereals and legumes, and vineyards.

Looking with great interest at this non-sectorial way of structuring the farm of the past, where the farmer was in tune with nature and respected its rhythms, I am starting to look at biodynamics, and to study all those delicate balances that exist between man animals and plants.”