Winemaker Notes
Pair with red meat, hard-paste cheese; also a superb meditation wine.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2015 Cesanese Amarasco is a quick-drinking red that makes a perfect pairing partner to pizza with sausage and broccoletti (one of the best toppings combinations ever). The wine is smooth and low in tannins with bright cherry and blackberry at the top. Thanks to 18 months in tonneaux, you also get mild spice and tobacco.
Beyond the usual suspects, there are hundreds of red grape varieties grown throughout the world. Some are indigenous specialties capable of producing excellent single varietal wines, while others are better suited for use as blending grapes. Each has its own distinct viticultural characteristics, as well as aroma and flavor profiles, offering much to be discovered by the curious wine lover. In particular, Portugal and Italy are known for having a multitude of unique varieties but they can really be found in any region.
Known as the ancient homeland of the Latins, today there is a vigorus wine industry beyond the city limits of modern, bustling Rome. The Cesanese grape, full of red berry, spice and rose, is responsible for Lazio’s only true local reds. Lazio’s most famous white wine, called Frascati, is based on the local Malvasia del Lazio and Trebbiano Toscana. A sweet version, called Cannellino di Frascati, is also made.