2020 CELLARIO 'Il Giovanotto' 1L

Region: Langhe < Piemonte < Italy

Grapes: Dolcetto

Vineyard/Cellar Stats: Certified organic farming; marl and tuff soil, 350 meters altitude; whole cluster fermentation in stainless steel, some carbonic; bottled unfined, unfiltered with no added So2; zero-zero; 11.5% ABV

Winemaker: Fausto Cellario

The Cellario family takes joy in their native surroundings of the hills around Carrù in Piemonte, and make an effort to channel the environment around them through in their wines. With a history in the region that spans generations, they ultimately they feel that the wines reflect themselves as well. They work only with native grapes for this reason, farm organically and are hands off in the cellar. No new is wood allowed, and only minimal sulfur added at bottling. The elevation is high here, and the soil is predominately marl, combined with some tuff. Marl, the typical clay-based Piemonte soil type, adds acid to resulting wines, and the tuff, which is of volcanic origin, adds a smokey quality. While the Cellario’s vineyard holdings include esteemed Piemonte sites, they choose to adopt a philosophy they describe as “wine of the people”.

Il 'Giovanotto' (the casual, cheeky term for 'young man') is the family's take on Nouveau, and while it drinks totally different than the simple French Beaujolais Nouveau, this is Italian glou glou at its finest.  Bone dry, with tart red fruit, spice and some friendly tannins, it tastes like cherry-cranberry Jello with violet petals and black pepper crushed on top. PLUS -- it's a liter and under $25!  What's not to love?  The fact that they don't make much, and it'll disappear fast...