2012 Kurni

Eleonora Rossi and Marco Casolanetti have become famous for their Kurni, an iconic Montepulciano first made in 1997. Methods include extremely tight spacing of the vines (up to an unbelievable 50,000 vines per hectare), very low yields and minimal intervention in the cellar. Casolanetti uses 200% new oak: depending on the vintage, after the wine spends an initial 12 months or so in new oak, it is aged a further 12 to 18 in new oak barriques). The end result is a red wine quite unlike any other in the Marche--or in Italy, for that matter. In fact, Casolanetti is an immensely talented winemaker who also consults for a number of Marche estates, helping them create concentrated, silky-smooth wines. I first met Casolanetti in the late ‘90s while having a drink with the owner of one of Rome’s best wine shops. He was already a talent then, and I recall tasting the rather amazing Trebbiano wine he used to make (I don’t remember exactly which Trebbiano variety he used at the time), which was truly a spectacular white not unlike the great wines from Valentini. Unfortunately, Casolanetti was never especially interested in pursuing white wine production and he stopped making it. The only other wine currently made at Oasi degli Angeli is Kupra, a 100% Grenache (the variety is locally referred to as Bordò). It's another rich, tactile beauty.