2017 Lammidia Miscela Vino Rosato

Region: Pescara < Abruzzo < Italy

Grapes: Montepulciano, Trebbiano, Pecorino, Passerina, Malvasia

Vineyard/Cellar Stats:: organic/biodynamic farming with no tilling; blend of red/white grapes in stainless steel; bottled unfined/unfiltered with no added So2; zero-zero; 11% ABV

Winemakers: Davide Gentile and Marco Giuliani

Friends in Davide Gentile and Marco Giuliani were childhood friends in Abruzzo, then reunited after university over their passion for wine.  With jobs in rural Abruzzo few and far between, they decided to try making natural wine -- despite zero training or consulting help. It started with experimentation, and they learned by trial and error in the vineyards and cellars - and learned the hard way. Their first fermentation in 2010 was such a disaster that they called in the big gun: Grandma, an expert at getting rid of the evil eye, to have her perform a ritual over their grapes. Apparently it worked, and Lammidia (“evil eye” in Abruzzese dialect) was born.  Today, after making over 60 (tiny production, extremely allocated) wines together, they've clearly nailed the winemaking thing, and have even designed and built their own concrete tanks and amphorae for aging. We love their labels, all imprinted with a picture of a hand and their motto: “uva e basta!” (grapes and that’s it)—no technology, no chemicals, no fancy tricks; just grapes and a few hands getting dirty in the soil.

Their 'Miscela', which means blend in Italian, is a super blend of white, pink and red juice.  This highly drinkable and delicious elixir feels lush and juicy in the mouth but the fruit is tart - think early April strawberries and rhubarb -- with a savory, herbal, grassy thing, some pleasant earthy funk and singing acidity.  IT’S SO GOOD!! Sadly, it's also super allocated and we were only able to get 2 cases, so grab some now, as it won't last. CHILL LIKE AND ENJOY LIKE A ROSÉ.