Le Coste, Pizzicante Rosato 2021

Aleatico and Sangiovese

Lazio, Italy

Vibrant sparkling rosato pet-nat, from ungrafted vines just north of Rome. Grapes are destemmed and fermented on the skins for just a few hours before being pressed off to vats and then bottle to finish fermentation. It was disgorged after two years on the lees, producing a wine of gorgeous colour and fine bubbles, which carry refreshing notes of blood orange, pink peppercorn and rose. NO ADDED SULFUR, VEGAN.

Gianmarco Antonuzzi and Clémentine Bouveron tend around fourteen hectares of vines, around the volcanic Lago di Bolsena near Gianmarco’s childhood town of Gradoli in Lazio. They worked for many years for some of France’s great vignerons, and their time spent with the likes of Bruno Schueller and Dard et Ribo has been influential on their work. They moved to Gradoli in the early 2000s, seeing untapped potential and eager to apply what they had learned to the fascinating local grape varieties and unique terroir.

Their picturesque vineyards sit amongst chestnut trees, shrubs, oaks and the olive trees from which they produce their excellent olio. The soils are of old volcanic origin and are rich in iron and minerals. The vines are planted at a density of up to ten thousand plants per hectare and are a mix of massale selections and ungrafted vines. Everything is done by hand, with careful attention to the needs of each plant and while biodynamic principles are employed, the approach here goes above and beyond. Antonuzi is the winery’s primary cellar master, while Bouveron takes the lead caring for the land with biodynamic preparations, a beautiful synergy with many crossovers creating wines out of the estate’s original set of ancient local varieties.