Descend through the layers of this fresh, complex wine like an archaeologist digging through the centuries. Start with the fresh, earthy topsoil and taste the bright minerality of red currants and clay, then dig further to find notes of dark berries and tobacco and vanilla. Finally, at the bottom, if you listen carefully, is an ancient Roman winemaker stirring the lees of his amphorae and sending messages back through time.
Hold this up to the light and just stare. It’s friggin’ beautiful. It’s like a cherry soda wrapped in an enigma inside a paradox. How did they capture a sunset from eight different grapes in an old amphora? It also happens to be delicious.
Pairs well with soft, mild cheeses, charcuterie board, roast duck or save it for a rich chocolate decadence cake.
A punnet of red fruits and berries slowly stews on a cast iron stove. Aromas of raspberry and cherry and plum wrap themselves around a farmer’s pipe smoke and overlay the room’s natural notes of wet earth, chocolate and oak. Outside, it’s dark and stormy, but inside the wine is flowing and the mood is bright and intense and filled with hope.
Pair with a slow-braised lamb shank with new potatoes, roasted pheasant or a spaghetti carbonara.
