Rosé Wine of the Year Award goes to Zero Gaglioppo Rosato 2020 Az. Agr. Brigante

Rosé wine in Calabria has such a deep-rooted tradition that it has never known moments of crisis, even when in the rest of Italy rosé wine consumption had dropped to such low levels as to have almost disappeared. Paradoxically, before the oenological renaissance marked by the last decade, rosé was instead the only wine on which Calabrian producers experimented the most: from marrying native and international grape varieties, to the use of overripe grapes and even unlikely aging in barrique.

The Brigante Company

Even in the traditionalist Cirò, to this day there are still few wineries that together with a Cirò don't offer an innovative rosé. "We already produced a traditional rosé" Stefania Carè and her husband Enzo Sestito told us in unison, "in thinking about what our alternative rosé would become, we imagined a different wine, but without departing too much from tradition and territory. The choice of gaglioppo is therefore easy, a variety that lends itself very well, so we chose a packaging and a one-liter bottle that was certainly against the tide, but as wine makers, we knew very well that the image alone is not enough. This is how the Zero project was born, where zero means without sulphites, yeasts or filtrations."

Brigante company. The Zero project and the Zero Rosato

The Zero line includes a red and a rosé made like a cru, starting from a single vineyard, the highest of the company, the one that matures a little later, but which thanks to the sea breeze and a good temperature range, keeps the acidity well balanced, while the fruit ripens perfectly. For the Zero Rosato, using the ancient "pista e mutta" method, the one used by their grandparents, cellar practices are reduced to a minimum, limited to soft pressing and a short maceration on the skins, just enough to reach the desired colour. Obtained only from the free-run must, after spontaneous fermentation and racking, the wine ages for a couple of months in steel and is bottled without filtration or added sulphites. Heirs of a long family tradition, Stefania and Enzo–who is also the agronomist of the company–personally manage their ten hectare vineyard in the hilly area, organically cultivated, for a production of a few thousand bottles that are well identified with the Cirò area and its winemaking tradition.

Zero Gaglioppo Rosato 2020 Az. Agr. Brigante

With a beautiful bright antique pink, the Zero Rosato '20 is clear and elegant on the nose, scented with red fruit and berries, strawberries, citrus fruits, wild violet, mint and white pepper. The sip is barely tannic, savoury and fruity, perfectly balanced with acidity, very long aromatic persistence and finish. A great natural wine.

Az. Agr. Brigante - Cirò (KR) - Via Sant’Elia, 31 - 333 4135843 - vinocirobrigante.it

by Massimo Lanza