2020 Lammidia Rosh Abruzzo Red

Region: Pescara < Abruzzo < Italy

Grapes: 90% Montepulciano, 10% Trebbiano

Vineyard/Cellar Stats:: organic/biodynamic farming with no tilling; whole cluster, spontaneous fermentation in cement with indigenous yeasts, one week pigéage then 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 'Rosh' is a chillable red that gets a lift from the tiny addition of Trebbiano, funking up an already unconventional Montepulciano.  I t's chalky, bright, and juicy rustic glou glou that hits you with electric jolt of acid on the front and ends with earthy, dusty red fruit.  This one is for acid lovers -- if a light, super tart red is not your jam, skip the Rosh.  But if you're on team acid like us, stock up on this one, as there is never enough Lammidia to last...