2020 Storchi Pozzoferrato Lambrusco

Region: Reggiano Rosso < Emilia Romagna < Italy

Grape: Lambrusco Maestri, Lambrusco Salamino

Winemaker: Gianni Storchi

Gianni Storchi is part of the new generation of Lambrusco growers thinking about this much-maligned, mass-produced wine in a more modern —which is actually, ironically, the more old-fashioned, small scale, artisanal—way.  His vineyards are in the Enza Valley in the DOC-certified hills of Scandiano and Canossa, on land recovered from the Enza river over the centuries, full of limestone, clay and gravel.  He farms biodynamically, which is super rare in the region.  But for him, preservation and conservation of the land is critical, and he believes that biodynamics are the correct philosophy to do this. He uses only estate fruit - nothing purchased -- and the wine is made less than 50 meters from his vineyards.  All the harvesting process is done with small crates, strictly by hand, no machines. After the fermentation (which comes entirely from natural process without the use of additives or preservatives, in temperature-controlled steel tanks) and the finishing process, his wines travel the grand total of ten meters for bottling.

"Please don't call it Lambrusco," Gianni says.  Well, it is, but we get it. His wines are made using metodo classico (the same method used to make Champagne), which is a rarity with Lambrusco.  Fermented using native yeasts and all organic grapes (which is even a rarity in Champagne).  And the wine is also very different than most Lambruschi: super dry, inky, purple and frothy in the glass.  It smells intense, like dark, wild berries and violets but the palate is friendly, juicy yet dry with a little bit and notes of leather, blackberry and black olives on the palate.  The perfect pizza wine!   But also quite festive and fun on its own.