Manzone Rossetto Rarity

Have you ever heard of Rosserto? It is an extremely rare and native grape to Langhe, Piedmont. Thanks to the efforts and passion of Giovanni Manzone (of Azienda Agricola Giovanni Manzone, a well-known Barolo producer), he found and rescued the old vine from a family vineyard. The grape gets its name from its color - a white berry with a faint red glimmer. Manzone the best and only examples of this varietal, roughly 2,500 bottles produced per year.

The family estate was founded by Giovanni Manzone in 1925. Their love of the land, strong tradition and dedication to native grapes of the region and are closely tied to Barolo wines, but also makes several Barbera d'Alba, Dolcetto d'Alba and Langhe DOC wines. This particular wine undergoes a short maceration on the skins before spontaneous and slow fermentation (approximately 10 days in 500 liter wooden barrels), before 12 months of lees ageing and then a further 12 months in the bottle. No clarification or filtration. It’s like a lighter version of a Vermentino but with more fleshy fruit and herbaceousness.

Rossetto Rossese Bianco di Monteforte 2018

Azienda Agricola Giovanni Manzone

Langhe DOC, Piedmont, Italy

Pours into the glass a light golden color.

Swirl and intriguing aromas of citrus, stone fruit, melon and apples, almonds, acacia, and hay.

Sip and the palate has refreshingly awesome acidity and slight bitterness with flavors of citrus, fresh nectarines and apricots, pears and apples, almonds, saline and finishes on thyme, basil and mint. It’s pleasant, soft and at 12.5% it’s very easy drinking, fresh tasting.

Pair with focaccia topped with pecorino and olives, grilled polenta with roasted mushrooms and thyme or pan fried snapper filets with lemon confit.