2016 Cesanese Superiore Riserva Cirsium

Located in Olevano Romano, 35 miles south of Rome, we find Damiano Ciolli and his namesake winery. Like many of the best winemaker stories in Italy, Ciolli didn’t grow up wanting to be a winemaker; he comes from a family that produced bulk wines only sold locally in demi-johns. Ciolli was, however, very interested in wines from around the world, traveling to France and throughout Italy to taste and immerse himself in the culture. That was until 2001, when a deadly frost decimated his family vineyards; and rather than let his father destroy any fruit that survived, he convinced him to instead let him save the healthy grapes. This resulted in the first vintage of Cirsium, and in Damiano Ciolli’s decision to travel the winemaker's path. The grape used here is Cesanese, which thrives on the volcanic soils and the high elevations (around 450 meters) of the region. The Silene is the flagship wine of the house, in that it has the largest production, but it still creates a stunning yet softer and more uniquely floral expression. Silene hails from four-and-a-half hectares of Cesanese vines planted between 1981 and 2002, and it refines entirely in concrete for one year. The deeper, darker and more powerful Cirsium, instead, comes from a half-hectare of 60-year-old alberello bush vines planted by his father in 1953. The grapes undergo a 20-day maceration and are then fermented and refined in French oak for 18 months. This is a portfolio worth checking out and following over the coming years.