April 23rd Tasting
Calabria/Abruzzo Flight
Wines:
- Cantine Vincenzo Ippolito 'Mare Chiaro' Ciro, Calabria 2024
- Cantine Vincenzo Ippolito 'Liber Pater' Ciro, Calabria 2023
- La Valentina Montepulciano d'Abruzzo 2023
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Brothers Vincenzo and Gianluca Ippolito are the youngest in five generations of Ippolito grape farmers and wine growers (founded in 1845). Their roughly 100 hectares are divided between about 70 on the Mancuso hillside (Mancuso is slang for “left” because as you exit Cirò Marina, you turn left to get to the vineyard), and another vineyard very close to the sea. The clay-marl soils of the Mancuso hillside are planted to Gaglioppo, the clay quickly turns into a slippery-gooey mess when saturated by rain. Their farming does not purport to be Organic, but it is as natural and respectful of the land as possible.
La Valentina is a leading example of the modern renaissance of winemaking in Abruzzo. The region has a history as a source of inexpensive bulk wine production, but a new generation of winemakers has dedicated itself to harnessing the excellent terroir to produce high quality rather than high quantity—and La Valentina is at the forefront of this movement.
Rather than turning to international grape varieties or varieties that are more at home in other regions, the Di Properzio brothers remain true to the traditional varieties associated with Abruzzo: Montepulciano and Trebbiano Abruzzese, along with a time-honored but almost forgotten variety, Pecorino. The shift in focus is not in the grapes but in the way they are grown and vinified.
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Wineries: Cantine Vincenzo Ippolito, Fattoria La Valentina
Importer: Chambers & Chambers Wine Merchants
Rep: Michael Melgoza